January has been a great month for me. Touched by Darkness, the first book in my Sentinel series, came out, and had a decent showing on Barnes & Noble and Bookscan. Since I had changed publishers and gone from SF romance to “urban fantasy” paranormal romance, it’s been three years since I had a book out, so seeing TBD on the shelves has been great. Then on Monday, I *finished* the second book in the series, Touched by Fire, AKA “the book from hell”, and got it out the door (one whole day ahead of the deadline!). Woohoo!!! Cyber wine and chocolate to everyone! I honestly wondered if the darned thing would ever get done. Some books are like that (see my whiney post earlier this month). But it’s done, and life is good.
It did get me to wondering though, about the power of forcing ourselves to reach further than we think we possibly can, and about “firsts”. This took me back, way, way back . . . to the 1950’s, which unfortunately, I can vaguely remember. The year was 1954, and the man was Roger Bannister, who was determined to prove “them” wrong. Them, or they, were the medical experts who claimed that no one could run a mile in under four minutes—that the heart and lungs simply couldn’t withstand the strain. Everyone went along with that conventional wisdom and didn’t even try. Until Roger came along, and said, “Poppycock!” (he was British). And by golly, in May 1954, he ran a mile in under four minutes. Not only did his heart and lungs remain intact, but as soon as people knew it could be done, then hundreds of other people began doing it, too. Imagine that!
Maybe our dreams aren’t that grand, and maybe some of them are small enough to simply be considered goals, but I believe we’re all capable of greatness. (Music swelling here, the song ‘The Impossible Dream’ from Man of La Mancha—another trip way, way back.) When I started writing futuristic romances in the early 1990’s, I was told by authors, agents, and publishers, “Don’t write that—it will never sell.” That was the same thing being said about paranormal romances of any kind. And many of the first attempts didn’t fare too well. But we persisted (some authors out of sheer vision and genius, me out of my usual stubbornness). And just look at us now! Look at how the romance genre has exploded and grown, and at the amazing, innovative, creative and different types of stories it now encompasses. “You’ve come a long way, baby!” (yes, back in time again).
So today I want to salute those authors who’ve boldly gone where James T. Kirk has never gone before and who were/are pioneers in the romance field. I want to mention two of the “firsts” in books for me—books that changed my world and sent me in search of more. The first was “Many Mansions”, by Gina Cerminara, the story of Edgar Cayce, which I discovered in the library when I was eleven. It sent me a mystical journey that continues to this day. The second was “The Flame and the Flower”, Kathleen Woodiwiss’s ground-breaking historical romance that set readers on fire for more. Readers and writers haven’t looked back since.
So, what are some of the first books that inspired you, fired you up, and opened a whole new world for you?
Happy Wednesday!
Catherine
