Literary Escapism would like to welcome Cheryl Brooks to the room today. Cheryl is the author of the Cat Star Chronicles – Slave, Warrior, and the soon to be released Rogue and she’s here to talk about my favorite topic – literary escapism.
Make sure you stick around because we will be giving away a copy of Rogue.
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Hello, I’m Cheryl Brooks, author of The Cat Star Chronicles series of erotic science fiction romance, and I think “literary escapism” is what reading is all about. A story might contain a situation you can relate to, but it still should take you away to another place and time, put you in someone else’s shoes, and allow you to view the world through their eyes.
Now, imagine that world is a planet many light years from Earth, populated by intelligent, down-sized versions of the Tyrannosaurus Rex. Then imagine that you’ve been hired to go there to give piano lessons to a dinosaur princess. You’ve been far too busy with your career to ever go looking for love, and this world is the last place you’d ever expect to find it, but upon your arrival, you find not one, but two of the most stunningly sexy feline humanoid males imaginable, and they both want you to be their mate.
This is the dilemma that Kyra Aramis faces in The Cat Star Chronicles: Rogue when she discovers that the Darconian Queen, Scalia, has two Zetithian slaves, Tychar and Trag. They may be brothers, but while Tychar is a charmer, Trag is something of a bad boy. Who will she choose? For that matter who would you choose?
Most of us have fantasies about one type or the other—or both—but each has his own set of drawbacks and attributes. The charmer may make you feel desired and appreciated, but he might not be sincere. The bad boy adds the spice of danger to the romance, but he could also wind up getting you into more trouble than he’s worth. Still, no matter how you look at it, either of them is guaranteed to be fun. The trick is to figure out which one will stick around the longest.
With that in mind, most women who are looking for a lifelong mate will choose someone who is a different type altogether, but this is escapism, remember? These men are the Queen’s pampered pets, but neither of them have been with a woman since they were enslaved. Kyra is a bit timid and not at all secure in her own sexuality, but she can take her pick, or, if she is feeling truly adventurous, she could take them both.
In the real world, she would choose neither, for the two brothers are not only slaves, but belong to a queen who doesn’t want to part with them. To stay together, Kyra would have to remain in the employ of the Queen for the rest of her life. While living in a palace might seem like a wonderful thing, imagine never seeing anyone of your own kind again. Would you be willing to do that? Would you allow yourself to fall in love with someone else’s slave? Probably not, if you could avoid it. But, once again, this is escapist fantasy we’re talking about, so in that context, yes, you would fall for at least one of them, and you would try not to think about the potential for a badly broken heart.
When the Queen is overthrown and all offworlders are being hunted down, would you, the shy pianist, have the courage to stand and fight for the man you love? Possibly not, but since this is a romance novel—and romance novels always have a heroine!—the answer is a resounding “Yes!”
I love creating new worlds and new life forms, so the world of science fiction has a strong appeal for me. Other paranormal authors enjoy writing about ghosts, vampires, fairies, witches, or werewolves, but though you can tweak them any way you like, they are still defined by folklore. Aliens, on the other hand, can be anything my imagination wants to make them. In the case of the Zetithians, they’ve got some sexual attributes that no one else has, and on top of that, they’re sweet, irresistibly sexy, and they can purr.
Escapism, anyone?
You can find Cheryl at her website or at Cheryl Brooks Erotic Blogspot.
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Thank you Cheryl! I love escaping into the novels I read and the Cat Star Chronicles is one I can definitely do that one. I can’t wait to see where we end up next with Lover, the fourth installment of the Cat Star Chronicles.
Contest Time! We’re giving away a copy of Cheryl’s upcoming novel Rogue to one lucky commentary and it’s very easy to enter. All you have to do is answer this one simple question: What’s your favorite world to escape into? Sorry to my international readers, but the contest is only open to US or Canadian residents.
As always, if you want more chances to win, you can post about today’s contest on your blog, social network, or anywhere you can. Digg it, stumble it, twit it, share it with the world. Wherever you share it, make sure you add a link to it along with your answer (yes LE is now on Twitter as well!).
Join the Literary Escapism blog group and/or Page over on Facebook and you’ll get an additional entry (for each page). Make sure you leave a comment so I know that’s why you’re joining. Only new readers to the group will be considered.
For 2 additional entires, subscribe to Literary Escapism’s newsletter in the sidebar. This is for new subscribers only.
For 2 extra additional entries, purchase either Slave or Warrior (through LE’s Amazon store) sometime during this contest and send a copy of the receipt VIA email for your purchase to: myjaxon AT gmail DOT com. That’s a possible 4 entries if you purchase both books!
I’ll determine the winner with help from the Research Randomizer. All entries must be in by midnight on March 3rd.
Cheryl~
I can’t wait to read it. It sounds fabulous!
Robin:
Great posting, Cheryl. Can’t wait to read Rogue!
I’m running late as usual, trying to get ready for work, get autographed books ready to ship, etc! But wanted to stop by and say hi to one of my favorite authors! Escapism? Yes, love worlds to escape to. Don’t they say that in times of terrible anything, enjoying other worlds is the way to go? Sure they do! So I’m off to grab your latest book that will take me to a world far, far away in a distant galaxy and immerse myself in pleasurable fantasies. :) Thanks for the great post, Cheryl!
That’s it, Cheryl! You’ve said it – romance, in all its forms, is popular because it IS an escape! Be it back to the Regency period, a paranormal world, subterfuge, FBI/CIA, planetary or just someone else’s foibles and problems, romance is a genre for escapism. Yet, I’m always tickled when I find something I can relate to in my life. (As to what that might be with Tychar and Trag, hmmm… well. Ahem. Must find that out. LOL)
But, since I have to pick one, I’m going to say my favorite place to escape is under the sea. Good thing, since my Mer folk are calling!
Gotta love a character that purrs, Cheryl! And yes, you’ve really done sexy!
Linda
Hi Cheryl! Escapism is definitely what it is about. At least for me. Escapism and being entertained. Your books do both very well. Keep up the good work with all these blogs! Best of luck, Sharon
Thanks, Robin! I hope you enjoy it!
Thanks, Marie!
Hi Terry,
Reading is definitely one of the best ways to escape, and we could all use plenty of that these days!
Thanks for stopping by!
Hi Judi!
I like the idea of mermen, too! Can’t wait to read yours!
Thanks for stopping by!
Hi Linda!
I do love the purring thing. It’s one of the best things about a cat, and when there are two hunky guys who can purr, well, it’s even better!
Thanks!
Thanks, Sharon!
I’ve been doing a bit of escaping to the Regency with your book these past few days. It’s a winner!
Hi Cheryl! I agree, it is ALL about the escapism, and with all the news being so dark, the wilder the escape the better, IMO! I would gladly escape anywhere there are hot, purring men. My favorite escapes are to the versions of our own world that are rife with magic, real magic, just beneath the surface. That said, however, I do enjoy those aliens:-)
Hi Kendra,
These days, the more distance I can put between Earth and myself, the better! Actually, right now, I’d like to be in the palace on Darconia with Tychar and Trag. I’m freezing!
Hmmm, this is an interesting link. . . .
You’re welcome!
I love to escape into the paranormal world. Anything paranormal is what I crave. Give me vampires or werewolves over the real problems of the world any day.
Deidre
Guess you’ve come to the right place, then, Deidre!
There are many worlds to escape to if you have enough imagination. As for me, it’s definitely a paranormal world. I imagined up two characters a long time ago (One a werewolf and the other a vampire) and I could never decide between the two. I feel like Kyra in a sense because being given then choice, I, personally, could not choose.
Hi Ana,
The imagination is a wonderful thing, isn’t it? We can use it when we’re bored or stuck doing something we’d just as soon avoid. I’ve come up with all kinds of ideas while doing very mundane chores, and it makes those chores seem like, well, less of a chore!
I know a lot of others around here who’d have a hard time choosing between werewolves and vampires, too!
Cheryl, it sounds like you have created some exciting worlds I would love to escape to. I love science fiction. SF and romance make a great combo.
Thanks Patricia!
I couldn’t agree more! SF and Romance belong together!
Hi! Loved Slave and can’t wait to read Rogue..I wish I had the problem of choosing between to men…Yum! I always escape to the Paranormal world. I love Vampires, Shapeshifters, Witches, Mermaids/men and the Fey. If I could I know I would be a Shapeshifter = )
Thank you for your wonderful books!
For me I would have to say Romance and Mystery. I love romance, but I also like to try and solve crimes and mysteries. Thanks for having this great giveaway.