The Value of "Women's Work"--Ruth Diaz on Super Women

(excerpt fromThe Superheroes Union: Dynama)

“Why do you think I decided to work with children?” The smile spread across her whole face. “Everybody thinks it’s easy, like it was a gimme degree and anybody could take care of kids. They’re wrong. Some people are really bad at it, and some people just don’t care enough. A lot of supers just have too much on their minds. They get lost in the crisis and forget about what’s really important. So yeah, I may be twenty-seven and still living with my roommates from when we were all undergrads, but I love what I do.”

“Good for you,” TJ said softly. She cleared her throat, trying not to go all awkward in the face of that confession. “Me too. I was the kid that was always a crusader in search of a crusade, and I went into the Foreign Service. Probably do more saving the world in my day job than I ever will as a superhero.”



Annmarie shrugged and toyed with the stem of her wine glass. “The world needs both.”

***

When I began working on The Superheroes Union: Dynama, I knew I was writing a love story and I knew I was writing comic-book suspense. I didn't expect the strong feminist undercurrent running through the book. But with TJ and Annmarie being who they are, I couldn't have written a story that felt true for them without it.

It's not that it revolves around feminist philosophy. But TJ is a superhero and Annmarie is a childcare worker, so questions of work and worth keep coming up for them. TJ is trying to save the world, both in her day job and as a superhero, and she's hampered by centuries of Western culture influencing the people around her to believe that as a woman, she can't do that. Being a woman and a Latina are both central to her identity, and she constantly has to prove that her work is as valuable as that of a man doing the same job.

Even superheroes have some bigots and idiots amongst them.

As a childcare worker, Annmarie has the opposite struggle. Because the work she does is historically considered "women's work," it is traditionally undervalued. At one point, TJ observes something Annmarie is doing and thinks to herself that "it's like having a wife"--not to devalue what Annmarie does, but in appreciation of the level of hard work that goes into taking care of TJ's rambunctious seven-year-old twins.

When you're reading, do you ever find yourself noticing the type of struggles a heroine has simply because she's a woman? And if you do, is it something you appreciate, or just one more element in a well-written story?

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What if your evil ex really was evil?

TJ Gutierrez used to be a superhero. But after the birth of her twins seven years ago, she hung up the yellow spandex. Until the day her archenemy and ex-husband, Singularity, breaks out of prison. When it becomes clear he’s after the kids, she’s forced to call the nanny helpline—and once again become...Dynama!

Annmarie Smith doesn’t have a superpower. She saves the world by keeping kids safe while their parents fight evil. She temporarily moves in with TJ, and the way the magnetic mama puts family first captures Annmarie’s respect, and maybe her heart—even though she knows better than to fall for a superhero. Still, it’s hard to resist their wicked chemistry. Kapow!

But they can only hide from the world for so long. When Singularity’s quest for custody puts the kids’ lives in danger, can the two women conquer the evil villain and save TJ’s family—all before their first date?

The Superheroes Union: Dynama is available from Carina Press. You can read an excerpt here.

Carina Press store | Amazon.com | BarnesandNoble.com

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Cathy here: I'm always on the lookout for great speculative fiction, and the superhero genre is gaining momentum. Ruth Diaz's f/f tale The Superheroes Union: Dynama is sure to please!

And bonus! There is a giveaway of cool stuff on Ruth's blog Go! Go now! Win stuff!

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Ruth Diaz writes genre romances about non-mainstream relationships. She hides a number of publications in a different genre under another name, but The Superheroes Union: Dynama is her first romance publication. For more information, you can subscribe to her blog, like her on Facebook, or follow @RuthDiazWrites on Twitter (where she is most active and, well, opinionated).

SFR Brigade Mid Summer Blog Hop Winner!!!!

Woo hoo! What a great blog hop! Lots of fantastic comments and interesting posts.

Thank you all so much for participating. I wish I could give every one of my commentors a prize, but, alas, there is only one from here. And that one is....

Diana!

*Confetti in air*

Diana won a copy of Rulebreaker and an Amazon gift card.

But wait! There's more!

Be sure to check the SFR Brigade blog for the GRAND prize winner. Really. DO IT!!!! (That's a hint, people!)

Yanno, I love giving things away so much, and Rulebreaker's first "birthday" is coming up in August...Yep! I'm gonna do this again!

In the meantime, feel free to buy it if you can't wait ; )

Thanks again, everyone! I had a great time and hope you did too!

Since It’s Posted in PM, It Must Be True

From Publishers Marketplace: Cathy Pegau's CAUGHT IN AMBER, sci-fi suspense about a former drug addict enlisted to get close to her ex-lover and drug dealer to help save a federal agent's addicted sister, who finds herself falling in love with the sexy agent, and BREATHLESS, to Angela James at Carina Press, for publication in 2013, by Natalie Fischer Lakosil at Bradford Literary Agency (World).

(Thanks for the head’s up, Loreth ; )

Yes, I’ve know about the deal for a while now, but hadn’t said anything official until I okayed it with my lovely agent, Natalie. So now we all know.

I’m super excited to be working with Rhonda Helms on these books. She was fantastic with RULEBREAKER, and I know AMBER and BREATHLESS will be in good hands with her whipping guiding things.I can’t tell you how much I appreciate the input of my crit partners Jody Wallace and Sharron McClellan Camaratta and beta readers Melanie and Bella (did I miss anyone?). I thought AMBER would never get good enough to submit, but with patience and excellent revision notes, Natalie made it happen.

Okay! Back to work on BREATHLESS so Rhonda doesn’t hurt me.

Thanks, everyone!

Anniversary Contest!

My husband and I will be celebrating 20 years of marriage on February 29th. That’s five anniversaries. Well, five REAL anniversaries. On “off” years, we have an arrangement. His anniversary is on February 28th and mine is on March 1st. I give him a card or wish him happy anniversary then he remembers to do the same the following day.

Getting hitched on Leap Year Day was planned for that simple reason, to remind him of the date. I figured he could manage the right date every four years. So far, so good. And on those off years, I don’t concern myself it he’s had to travel or forgets or doesn’t get me anything. I don’t usually get him anything either. It’s been a great 20 years with my husband, and I know how much he loves and cares for me by the things he does for our family, not by the stuff that accumulates in our home.

Thank you, honey, for being a great husband and dad.

In honor of our anniversary, I’m having an Alaska goodies giveaway. Local tee shirt, a tote bag, some other AK stuff. How do you win? In the comments below, tell me about your best/worst anniversary or wedding memory. You can also complete the line “You know you’re an Alaskan when…” Here are some samples:

You know you’re an Alaskan when…..
…..your “signature” lip color is Carmex.
…..you keep your snow shovel out year ‘round.
…..you’ve only seen 4th of July fireworks when you were down in the Lower 48. (But who wants to leave AK in July??? It’s the best time of year to be here!)

So give me your stories and/or your Alaskan comments. I’ll do a random drawing on Sunday, March 4, and yes, I will ship internationally : )

Let’s see what ya got!

ETA: Winner has been chosen! LE, you get some sort of AK stuff! Email me at cathy@cathypegau.com.

Thanks for commenting, everyone! I totally enjoyed your stories and "You know you're an Alaskan" quips : )

It's the 2011 SFR Holiday Blitz!

Yes, friends, it's that most wonderful time of year again! The Galaxy Express is hosting a Science Fiction Romance giveaway extravaganza! Lots of different authors giving away lots of great books. All you have to do is comment. The more blogs you visit, the better your chances!

I'm giving away a copy of Rulebreaker at Contact-Infinite Futures. Come on by and see what all is being offered.

Happy Holidays, to be sure!

Claustrophobic Christmas by Jody Wallace writing as Ellie Marvel

Grab a blanket and snuggle with this new novella coming from Samhain Publishing November 29. But be warned! You'll warm up soon enough. While the story starts off with a snowstorm and a great sense of the cold--and I know cold!--it quickly heats up when travel writer Darcy Burkell gets stuck in a snowy traffic jam with photographer James Jones.

When Jody was writing Claustrophobic Christmas, she asked me, her official snow consultant, if I'd ever experienced a snowy traffic jam. In a town that has only two main streets, it isn't snow that gums up traffic, it's two cars meeting and stopping in the middle of the road to chat. That's a traffic jam in my corner of Alaska.

Here's a little taste of Jody's latest:

The bleak, grey sunset was swallowed by the ticking clock, and the snow grew heavier. Thirty minutes. She could no longer see asphalt. She twitched through the stations on the AM band again and again, hoping for better news. The more the snow coated her vehicle, the more it felt like a suffocating, metal coffin. An inch of white mounded on the car’s hood, but she kept those wipers going, those windows clear.

The cabin shrank smaller the longer she sat. Was it safe to get out? Where was her jacket? In back. She’d need it. The sweat suit was cozy but no protection against a…blizzard. Wind gusted the snow half down, half sideways.

Oh dear. She’d read about wilderness survival in her books, but that wasn’t the same as interstate survival. It wasn’t the same as being stuck in her car for hours.

No, she couldn’t think about hours, only minutes. In five minutes, if she was still here, which she wouldn’t be, she’d open the door and put her feet on the ground. Her butt grew numb as Novocain, and her nerves started twanging like bowstrings.

God, she hated small spaces. Cars, mostly. Other small spaces were easier to avoid. The AM station fuzzed on and off.

Darcy switched to holiday music, hoping the cheery bells would gird her loins to warn her family about her delay. She could hardly admit to herself she might be stuck here, in this itsy bitsy, teeny weeny, yellow, candy-smelling car, because she’d ignored the Weather Channel, so how could she admit it to Pop?

The truck in front of her groaned and cranked. Its taillights and brakes flickered off with a long, exhausted hiss. All around her, vehicles followed his example, headlights disappearing from her rearview mirrors.

They were giving up? But they’d only been here a few minutes! They could break free any second. Darcy tap-tap-tapped the steering wheel, faster and faster, until she caved to peer pressure and flicked off her headlamps. It was probably a mistake. She needed to be ready. If they idled much longer, it could get nasty. It was cold out there, and getting colder. Snow covered the cars, the road, the fields. Was James stuck? She reached for her phone, charging in the console, to text him, but he might not welcome any personal back and forth.

When she heard a door slam, just as he’d predicted, she twisted around to see what was going on.
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There were still enough headlights for her to make out the man from the SUV tugging a large, shaggy dog on a leash. They cut in front of her to the roadside. The human hunched miserably against the wind as the dog cavorted in the possibly record snowfall.

So many tires to pee on, so little time.

************
How fun is that? As always, Jody delivers a great story with charming characters, and she never fails to make me laugh.

So off you go! Preorder Claustrophobic Christmas or put it on your wishlist.

(Note: Photo by Colin Broug, Dec.9, 2010)

Release Week in Review

Gratuitous dog picture:


What a great Release Week for Rulebreaker! I can't thank my hosts enough for their generosity. And the chance to connect to folks through the comments was great fun. Thank you so much Heather at The Galaxy Express, Maria Zannini, Carina Press, Manic Readers, and Shelley Munro.

Go visit them and show them some love!

But the fun isn't over yet! I have a few more guest appearances coming up and will have some authors visiting here in the weeks to come. On Tuesday the 16th, I'll be at Sarah Makela's blog, and on Wednesday the 17th I'll be at Maureen Miller's.

Stay tuned for more appearances later in August and into September.

I'm getting great feedback on Rulebreaker and appreciate all the kind words folks have for it. Thank you so so much!

Happy Anniversary, Carina Press!

Before Carina Press ever released its first book, there was tons of buzz and anticipation about this digital first imprint. Between the Harlequin connection and Angela James at the helm, authors pubbed and unpubbed couldn't wait for them to open to submissions and see who would have the first books out of the gate.

Carina Press announced its existence while Rulebreaker was still being tweaked and I was looking into publishers. I had the feeling the story would be a perfect fit for Carina. I'm glad they did too.

One year later, tons of amazing stories have been released, with more to come ;) The imprint is thriving. Authors are happy. Readers are happy.

In celebration, there is a big party of blog posts, contests, announcements and giveaways going on. Head over to the Carina Press blog for details.

Happy Anniversary, Carina! And thank you!

RULEBREAKER Cover

Liv Braxton, a small-time thief stuck on a backwater planet, takes on the gig of a lifetime filling in as executive assistant at Exeter Mining Company. Her job is to download incriminating files, but Liv finds herself unexpectedly torn when she falls for Zia Talbot, the beautiful and alluring VP she is supposed to betray.

When I saw this for the first time, my jaw dropped and I felt myself getting all faklempt. Can you blame me? It's a gorgeous cover, and I can't thank the art team at Carina Press or the artist at Croco Designs enough for the perfect rendition of Liv and Zia. That's them, I said to myself.

Perfect.

The cover shows Liv and Zia's strength and vulerability, two characteristics I love in heroines. Liv is a thief, she needs to be tough but she's not unfeeling. That's sort of her problem : ) Zia may be standing behind Liv, but she's no shrinking violet. Far from it.

The blue tone, weapon and background let you know this is going to be a futuristic/science fiction story. The position of the characters tells you it's a romance, but not erotic. It looks like Zia is about to kiss Liv's shoulder. There's a scene in the book where Zia comes up behind Liv and does that. I'm not sure if the artist read it, but it's nicely implied here. And rather sensual, IMO : )

Rulebreaker comes out August 8. I'll be posting a blog tour schedule in conjuction with the release. I hope you join me.

But until then, feel free to pop back and drool over the cover. I know I will : )


The legalese:
Cover Art used by arrangement with Harlequin Enterprises Limited
Copyright© 2011 by Harlequin Enterprises Limited

Wanna See Something Pretty?

Head on over to The Galaxy Express ; )

Or, if you'd rather wait until tomorrow, you can come back here.

ETA: Oops! Sorry, gang, I'll post Thursday or Friday. I have to find something first : P

Rulebreaker Release Date

August 8, 2011 will be a heck of a day here in the Hopefully-Not Frozen North. My F/F SFR Rulebreaker debuts at Carina Press. Here's a blurb:

Liv Braxton, a small-time thief stuck on a backwater planet, takes on the gig of a lifetime filling in as executive assistant at Exeter Mining Company. Her job is to download incriminating files, but Liv finds herself unexpectedly torn when she falls for Zia Talbot, the beautiful and alluring VP she is supposed to betray.

It seems unreal that this story, that ANY story of mine, is going to be published. But there it is. Or will be.

I'm getting up the nerve to contact folks for a blog tour, which should be fun/chaotic. I've never done one before, nor hosted any other person on my blog, so we'll see how it goes.

IRL, I want to have a release party, but other than displaying my cover (which I can't wait to see because Carina puts out some awesome covers!) it's not like I can sign anything. Still, any excuse for a party, right?

August 8 is also the start of Science Camp week. We will have at least two house guests, possibly three, to add to the mix. That'll be fun, but we'll have to keep things family-rated, as two of our guests are under 13.

So there you have it. August 8, 2011. Mark your calendars and stay tuned. I'll post a cover and, hopefully, a blog tour schedule.