Trust is a Universal Need by Cathryn Cade

Hi, I'm Cathryn Cade. I write sci fi and contemporary paranormal romance. This means my heroines encounter some pretty weird and wonderful situations, beings and villains.

However, it does not mean they escape the same needs as heroines in every sub-genre of romance. We women want a strong hero to watch our back while we battle the malign forces of the universe, whether a boss, a teenager or a slimy, multi-jawed alien who wants to feed us to her young. 

We want the emotional and financial security of a home in which to make a family—whatever that looks like—a cabin in the woods, a beach house or a rickety space station. We want a rockin', sexy courtship on the way there, in which our hero proves that not only does he have our back, he also has our front; enough that he'll continue to desire us through child-bearing, broken household appliances and the stress of dual careers. We want a man we can trust.

These are the themes of contemporary romance. We get that, because we live it.

Add the wonderful weirdness of sci fi/paranormal and the game changes … or does it?

I think Jayne Ann Krentz/Jayne Castle put it best when she said romance is universally about  ' … flawed, emotionally vulnerable heroes and heroines who … must find a way to deal with their natural conflicts so that a new family can be founded and civilization will be saved. These values survive and endure because they are core survival values for our species, affirmed anew for each generation in (romance).'

Yeah, Jayne! Tell it. 'Cause now we're to the fun part.

In sci fi/paranormal it's a given that our plucky heroine is going to have to wade through some pretty horrendous trials, BUT (and it’s a big one) she also gets to marshal some awesome powers and allies to help her! Juxtaposed with the universal trials of romance, this can lead to some amazing and sometimes downright funny situations.

Castle's famed dust bunnies ride around on her futuristic heroines' shoulders, cute little balls of fluff until their mistresses are threatened. Like they say, 'by the time you see the teeth, it's too late'. Wish we all had one of those. Who can you trust if not a beloved pet?

However, Castle's heroines still have to deal with heroes. Trust a sexy alpha ghost hunter to settle down to hearth and home? Yikes.

Trust is a universal issue for women, magnified by paranormal issues. Hard enough to trust a big strong human male to play nice during that first intimate encounter.

Vampires, shifters, aliens and super-heroes, the men of sci fi/paranormal have the daunting habit of revealing a little something extra when they take off their clothing. When he suddenly bares extra long fangs, claws or some mind-bending super-power and growls that he'd like to penetrate our heroine with those too? Holy heck!

In my Hawaiian Heroes series, the Ho'omalu family has been tasked by the goddess Pele herself with protecting her islands from those who would bring harm. To do this, she's gifted them with powers stemming from the islands, the sea and sky.

Burning up the Rain, Hawaiian Heroes Bk 4

Her powers could save her island…or bring their love crashing down.

Despite her successful career, Lalei Kai-Ho’omalu has always considered herself mere decoration in a dynamic Hawaiian family, with none of their powerful gifts. Destined for life as a useless, upper-crust Honolulu wife. Then Lalei acts on her sizzling attraction to a guest at her cousin’s island wedding, making him a bold offer he can’t refuse. A no-strings, no-holds-barred affair on Nawea Bay with the sexy Hawaiian beauty is just the break California Realtor Jack Nord needs from his fast-paced career—and an inner darkness he’d like to forget. Just for a while.

Their very public liaison is the shocking declaration of independence Lalei intended—with unintended consequences. Stirred to anger by developers set on carving her family’s unspoiled ancestral lands into a resort, Lalei discovers she has the supernatural power to stop them. But when Jack learns his lover can bring down the rain and throw bolts of lightning, whose side will he take? The money-making machine? Or the woman born to protect her island home?

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