these aspects of Raven fascinating, and I hope you understand a little more as to why I chose to give her the background I did. I hope you learned to love her for the scrappy survivor she is, and how adaptable she’s always been. She acknowledges a crappy situation and tries to make the best of it, to figure out how to survive and thrive, as she’s done all her life.
There’s a general belief in romance writing that most readers hate sex worker heroines, or criminal heroines. This is probably true, but I wrote Raven anyhow, because I like to write different kinds of characters. :)
A quick housekeeping note - Raven refers to herself as a stripper instead of a sex worker, and this was a deliberate choice on my part. Not because I’m trying to denigrate her job choices — your body is your body and you can do whatever the fuck you want with it — but because I’m trying to be somewhat authentic to changing terminology. Raven was ‘taken’ from Earth at least five years ago, which is why all of her club songs are not from this decade. I felt it might come across as inauthentic and author-interfering for me to use the term sex-worker in the book via Raven’s narrative when I feel this is something that has cropped up in more recent years as we become more and more aware of the words we choose. If this is problematic for you, I absolutely understand and I apologize! Writing characters different from myself is always about learning, too.
As for U’dron! My big, squishy, adoring puppy-lunk of a hero. He’s just the best. I knew from the moment he started playing his drum when Raven sang that they were meant to be together, but I also wanted to give them other things to bond over. I loved the idea of them sneaking out to watch the stars together (and bonding over the fact that they couldn’t see constellations). I loved that both of them had these big, weighty secrets that were eating them alive, and I loved that they shared them with each other.
Both of these characters had ‘flaws’ that have made them outcasts amongst their tribes (at least in their eyes) so it gave them a deeper understanding of each other. Raven doesn’t like that U’dron risks himself in his proving, but she’s 100% supportive of his need to do it….just like U’dron never tells Raven what to do with her body or that she shouldn’t dance. For me, love is about partnership and belonging, and they’re perfect for each other.
I also liked the dichotomy of secrets and belonging…and introducing new characters! Juth and Pak’s appearance is forcing our divided tribe of little groupings to rethink what it means to be people. Why are outcasts not considered ‘real’ members of a clan when humans are fine? Doesn’t every life matter when most of the world you knew disappeared with the volcano? It’s forcing new questions and new thinking and that’s the kind of shit I love as an author. I hope you enjoyed Juth and little Pak, and rest assured we’ll see more of the two of them!
(Plus, who doesn’t love a single dad? Hello!)
If you’re wondering who is next…it’s not Steph! I wanted her epilogue to show some of her thinking with regards to Juth and Pak, but I do believe Bridget will be next, as I’m getting a lot of calls for her book.
As always, thank you so much for the never-ending support for these characters, and my books, and for just being awesome fans. I adore all of you and thank you so much for giving me reasons to play in this world over and over again. <3
Ruby
PEOPLE OF ICEHOME
The ‘Castaways’ (Icehome Tribe)
Lauren/Lo – Adult female at the beach camp. Once had glasses. Likes to be a problem solver. Resonates to K’thar, newly pregnant. Friend to Marisol.
Marisol – Terrified adult female at beach camp who is fond of hiding. Gets stranded with Lo on the island. Resonates to T’chai. Due to his sickness, their resonance is ‘turned off’ by the healer.
Hannah – Resonates to J’shel when the island tribes arrive. Newly pregnant. Resident busybody. Now assistant to Veronica.
Angie – Adult female at the beach camp. Pregnant with mystery baby when awoken. Gives birth to Glory (a clone female). Resonates to Vordis. Now pregnant again.
Glory - A qura’aki clone baby, implanted in Angie. Newborn and cute as hell.
Willa – Adult female with a