An Adventure of Purpose by Keri Kruspe

Let’s welcome back monthly columnist Keri Kruspe as she shares with us “An Adventure of Purpose,” Enjoy!

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In last month’s article, I bared my soul on how my newest release wasn’t selling as much as anticipated. 

I promised to give you an update, but I’m writing this in the middle of October and I don’t have credible updates yet. I need at least thirty days to get a respectable context. 

In the meantime, I’d like to share an epiphany that put everything in perspective for me. 

An epiphany

It didn’t hit me until recently that I’d gotten lost. 

If you’re an author, I hope this little tale will help if you’re lost as well.

Let me first start by telling you why I indulge in writing the genre, SciFi Romance. At the end of my story, I’ll explain why this is important.

Why I Write 

A long time ago, on a planet we call home, lived a shy, red-headed girl with spectacles who only wanted to spend her day reading. 

Immersed in stories of heroines, she read every comic book she could get her hands on; from Supergirl to Archie to The Avengers. 

When she entered the uncharted world of a pre-teen, she came across science fiction novels. 

Heinlein, Asimov, and McCaffrey became her new best friends. 

Old reruns of Star Trek along with its “sequel” The Next Generation combined with Quantum Leap fueled her imagination.

Then, in her late teens, she uncovered the passion of her life—romance novels. 

She submerged in reading the likes of Jude Deveraux, Kathleen Woodiwiss, and Johanna Lindsey. These were mostly historical romances, but an occasional contemporary love story would find its way into her eager hands. 

To her everlasting sorrow, the saying “and nary the twain shall meet” held true about her two loves, Romance and Science Fiction.

Until that one glorious day when the two genres bravely joined and began a lifelong journey of harmony and bliss. 

I’m sure by now you guessed that hapless girl was me. 

The genre of “SciFi Romance”

But once the genre of “SciFi Romance” was born, I worried the sub-genre wouldn’t survive. 

After all, the two separate classifications attract two distinct types of readers. 

Science fiction (SF) mostly delves into concepts and ideas that change our lives. 

Romance explores the inner, emotional parts of ourselves that strive for a quest of community. 

SF is great at “what if” while Romance creates memorable characters to fall in love with. 

While I’m being general here (there are always exceptions), I firmly believe when the two tropes merge it produces an ideal canvas to work from. Where one is weak, the other is strong.

Too bad it’s tough to convince hard-core SF readers to read Romance, and many romance readers shudder and avoid science fiction. But I felt both genres together created a near limitless avenue of love, adventure, and heart-pounding action.  

Kit Rocha (author of Gideon’s Riders series) explains the appeal:

“Speculative (sci-fi/dystopian/steampunk/etc.)… combines all my favorite things—the chance to build new worlds and new cultures, or the chance to take ours and break it down and put it back together with slightly different pieces. When you get to redefine the rules of what love is and how people express it, you get a lot of opportunities to explore new themes—or old themes from a new perspective.”

One of my favorite authors (ever!) is Sherrilyn Kenyon. When asked what about the genre (paranormal) did she like, she put it this way:

“Blood, guts, goats, ghosts, zombies, vampires, shapeshifters… Everything. I’ve never been the kind of person who liked to color inside the lines or who wanted to play by other people’s rules. With the paranormal and science fiction and fantasy, the only limitation I have is my imagination. I can do anything and go any place (as long as it makes sense and follows the rules of the worlds I’ve set up). I love the freedom of it all.”

Sigh—what’s not to love?

Empowering Women

Another aspect of writing SciFi Romance is a biggie for me: it empowers women. 

I thank the stars above that the women in today’s romance story aren’t afraid to be in charge. They tend to their own needs and desires. And, as with any romance, has a happy ending. 

That’s important to me, especially now. Times are tough for women. 

When we feel like we have no control over our crazy lives, we want to read stories not only about romance, but about the feeling of being in charge of an adventure. Add to that the promise of finding that certain someone who gets us. 

It’s even better for me if that person turns out to be a studly, sexier-than-humanly allowed otherworldly man, er… male. 

Now, here’s the confession. In the last couple of months, I’d forgotten everything I just outlined.

SORRY TO HEAR THAT, you might ASK, …  but how does that help me? 

Let me tell you how it helps in one word… PURPOSE.

My Purpose, My Why

I know this isn’t anything new. But for the first time it really hit me how important it is to feel deep down the purpose of why I write. 

I became so wrapped up in seeking book sales, I forgot being an author was all about enjoying the craft of writing. 

Instead, I became tense and irritable as I chased the frustrating and elusive task of achieving monetary reward. 

Every day the thought of working on my writing career ended up being an exercise in drudgery and hardship. 

It wasn’t until I made a conscious choice to let my obsession of sales go that my purpose became clear. 

As I finished up the first draft of the second book in my newest series, it shocked me how much fun I was having. 

Being immersed in the world I’d created, the hours flew. That hadn’t happened to me in a really long time. 

Even better came the realization that the tense pinch between my shoulders finally melted away.

Deep within my soul, it hit me what was important — creating worlds and characters that only I can make. 

Instead of allowing marketing to gain an unrealistic grip on my efforts, I’ll instead keep it in proper perspective from here on out. 

Only then will the gangly, red-headed girl in glasses live her dream. 

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Keri Kruspe has been an author since the age of twelve and has always been fascinated with otherworldly stories that end in Happily Ever After. Author of Otherworldly Romantic Adventures, Keri’s first series is An Alien Exchange trilogy. An Alien Exchange is the first book in the arousing Alien Exchange sci-fi romance series. If you like sexy aliens, feisty heroines, and fast-paced action, then you’ll love Keri Kruspe’s steamy space adventure.

Keri now resides with her family in the wilds of Northwestern Michigan. An avid reader, Keri enjoys good wine, good food, and watching action/adventure movies. You can find her most days immersed in her fantasy world of writing or traveling with her hubby in their RV, discovering intelligent life here on Earth. For goodies, news of upcoming releases, sign up for her newsletter at www.kerikruspe.com.