We're Rollin' With the Big Boys Now...

 By Keri Kruspe

Author of Otherworldly Romantic Adventures

A reader ask me the other day who were the bestselling SciFi/Alien romance authors today. While that could have been a hard answer to come up with even at the start of this year, SciFi romance has had a shot out of obscurity in the last couple of months.

Looking back, the romance genre as a whole has branched out exponentially in the last twenty years with a myriad of genres to choose from. When I started reading romances in my late teens, the “bodice rippers” was the most popular. The covers had a studly man gripping a woman, threatening her bountiful bosoms to pop free. Course, the half-naked, hunky man on the cover was more than drool worthy.

Admittingly, back in the early 80’s, the choice of romance genre was pretty slim. You either read a historical (regency, old south, Scottish, etc) or some form of contemporary, especially with Harlequin. 

As best as I can determine, paranormal romance started in the late 1980’s or early 1990’s. The early pioneers were Sherrilyn Kenyon (1994) Christine Feehan (1999) and Maggie Shayne (1993) and Jude Deveraux (1989), to name a few.

Over the years, Paranormal romance spouted several offshoots, one being SciFi romance. Which has been steadily growing within the last ten years.

To be honest, the term, SciFi Romance is not new. However, up to this point, I would argue it’s an underappreciated one. Partly because those two genres seem to be completely opposite of one another. But the seeming incompatibility of the genres is what makes them so powerful when combined. One expresses deep emotions (like love) and the other fixes its gaze to fantastical ideals that explore the impact of science on society or an individual. When the two genres converge successfully, it produces a unique narrative that not only pulls your heartstrings, but teases the intellect.

According to the K-Lytics report of SciFi Romance dated April 2020, there was enough growth in the genre to prompt them to do a special report on that genre for the first time. Their bottom line  analysis was “Sci-Fi Romance has developed from a niche status into a high-performing mainstream market on Kindle. It offers high sales but also heightened degree of competition.”

A Miracle!

In June of this year, a miracle occurred that gave credence to the K-Lytic report. Ruby Dixon, author of Ice Planet Barbarians, hit the overall bestseller list on the Amazon site. Not just in SciFi Romance, not just in Paranormal Romance, and not just in Romance. In the mainstream Amazon store! First thing that came to my mind was the adage “A rising tide floats all boats”. I'm crossing my fingers crossed it will transform the genre to a higher level of popularity.

In a great article from CNN by AJ Willingham, they explained how "Sexy Blue Aliens invaded Amazon's Best Seller List." While we can’t rely on a Tik Tok post to shoot us into stardom like it did Ruby, there is hope others will discover what a wonderful read mixing science fiction and romance are.

 

  Exciting Futures to Read About

One of reasons I write SciFi Romance is I got irritated that heroines were usually “kidnapped” by aliens and taken away from Earth through no choice of their own. While I enjoyed the struggles they endured before falling in love with a match made in the stars, it got me thinking. What if those women had a choice? Would they voluntarily leave Earth for the chance of true love? I also wanted to put in a bit of adventure to go along with the budding love. 

Another thing to be excited about is instead of being stagnate, the romance genre is changing and growing in a variety of tropes. SciFi romance is just one of them. Gone are the days of simpering maidens waiting for a man to swoop in and rescue her from her virginity. While there may still be great stories out there like that, I appreciate today’s romances in which the woman is generally older than the barely eighteen-year-old of yore. And she can kick some serious ass when called for. They all have faults and struggles to work through, but they have enough “grit” and are equal with whatever love partner(s) they get involved with.

So, spread the word. Tell folks that SciFi romance is a wonderful blend of the two genres. Let’s stamp out the perception that girls don’t like science fiction and boys hate a soppy romances. I’d love for you to leave a recommendation in the comment section to give folks a choice of your favorite alien romance so others will give it a try.

That way, all our boats will rise in this tide of popularity.