C.J.: I’m 43, female, and weigh a lot more than I’d like. *g* I currently live in a small town near Syracuse, NY with my architect husband Ed and two beautiful children, Rachel and Ryan. I have a lovable cat named Oliver, although he thinks he has me. We all live on an acre of paradise in the country with lots of grass, trees and sunshine. I do have a day job that pays for all that. I work as an Information Technology Manager for a plastics manufacturer. I run the computer center, bring new technologies into the company, and develop all their custom applications. I started out as a programmer and still love to design and develop software. I’m not sure how that made the transition to writing. Maybe I just needed to exercise the creative side of my brain. Whatever the reason, no one was more surprised than I when I finished and sold my first book. I have few hobbies now that I’m working two jobs and taking care of a family and house, but I do like gardening, cooking and entertaining.

Bee: How did you get your start in writing and how did you decide to write romance?

C.J.: I started as an avid reader as a child, particularly science fiction. In high school, I took a creative writing class and aced it with little effort. In fact, my final project was a Science Fiction story that I wrote the weekend before it was due and received an A+ for. I still have it packed away somewhere. My teacher was very encouraging, but I didn’t think I could make a "real" living as a writer so I went for something that really interested me — computers. I didn’t write again for many years, until I had children. After reading to them every day, I decided to try my hand at children’s books. I took a class and, at the end, the instructor cornered me and said, "You can write. Keep at it." However, I quickly became frustrated with the short length and level of vocabulary, even though I loved the process of writing itself.

So I started reading SF heavily again, and on one of my trips to the local library, picked up my first romance — SWEET STARFIRE by Jayne Ann Krentz. I was smitten! I couldn’t believe it — science fiction and romance together. Although I loved SF, I always felt there was something missing and I found it in SFR. Then I looked for more SFRs and read them all. Much to my disappointment, it didn’t take long to run out of those, and I moved on to contemporaries. I was a reading machine, devouring well over 200 romances that first year. But during that time, no new futuristics were released, and I thought, "Hmm, maybe I’ll try to write one myself." UNCHAINED was born on a grueling trip to Virginia and back. I wrote my first scene on June 8, 1998.

Bee: Tell us about when you sold your first book. Was this the first book you wrote or do you have a secret stash of unpublished work somewhere?

C.J.: I have no secret stash; I wish I did! I sold all the books I've written so far. UNCHAINED was my first sale to an epub/print pub, New Concepts, in 2001. It is a single-title science fiction with lots of romance — a little too much SF for traditional romance, but perfect for a small press.

Dorchester bought UNEARTHED in 2002 and the UN-forgettable Series was launched, with three books from May 2003 to May 2004 (UNEARTHED, UNRAVELED, UNLEASHED). UNMASKED will be out in 2005.

Bee: What made you decide to write futuristic romances rather than another genre?

C.J.: I’m a geek, who else would have me? LOL! Seriously, I’m much geekier than I look. I visit the NASA Web site everyday, my writing career is organized into an Access database, and I plot every book on an Excel spreadsheet. I love gadgets, new technologies and all the infinite possibilities that are "out there". I also like history and enjoy replaying actual events in another place and time. Humans are humans and their flaws never change, which is why history repeats itself. My other passion is solving unsolved mysteries such as the pyramids, lost civilizations, or Stonehenge. Many of my story ideas revolve around those, and only in paranormal could I write them.

Bee: On your Web site, you mention an interest in paranormal romance. Is there anything specific planned, or are there any other sub-categories that have caught your attention?

C.J.: I love all things paranormal and that covers a lot of territory. Possibilities are endless. ;-) I do have a few ideas, all of which have strong paranormal elements and futuristic settings. There needs to be something unique in a story that keeps me happy as a writer. It’s just a matter of picking the project that I’m most passionate about.

Bee: One of your books, UNCHAINED, is an e-book. What do you think of that type of publishing and what made you decide to utilize it?

C.J.: UNCHAINED really split the genres of romance and SF, and epubs are much more willing to take a risk with a book like that. Of course, I have a Palm Pilot and UNCHAINED loaded on it (see Geek Clause above). As a reader, I find it very convenient to have the book available electronically. As an IT professional, I see the technology as having great potential on a business level. I’m just waiting for the dominant e-formats to emerge before our company takes the leap into using these devices internally.

Btw, NCP offers UNCHAINED in print as well as electronic format.

Bee: I always like it when characters from past books are brought through a series. What made you decide to do this in your "UN-Books"?

C.J.: I have always loved series books myself, so that decision came quite naturally to me. Also, developing a new world and technologies from scratch takes considerable time and energy, so it’s nice to be able to build on that world from book to book.

Bee: What advice do you have for aspiring romance writers?

C.J.: Join Romance Writers of America. Then join a local chapter where you can meet other writers face-to-face. I would not be published today if it weren’t for my local chapter, Central New York Romance Writers.

Then I think the most important thing is to write what you are passionate about. It’s a long road to becoming an author for most, and if you don’t absolutely love what you write, it’s not a fun ride. It should be fun. It should consume you and drive you and make you smile out of nowhere. It should be your best friend, your hardest taskmaster, and your greatest challenge. It should fill your heart with equal parts of love and pain. It should feel just like falling in love.

Bee: Whom do you read when you have time?

C.J.: I certainly don’t get to read as much as I used to! A precious few books a year aside from research. I love Jennifer Crusie and will make a point to read all of her new books. I also enjoy reading Jayne Ann Krentz, Clive Cussler, Susan Grant, Catherine Splanger, and Kate Angell. And I read a lot of history, technology and astronomy non-fiction.

Bee: In an effort to be supportive of our authors, do you have any wallpaper preferences for the Rebel Message Board?

C.J.: Well, I think they’ve been awesome up until now, and I wouldn’t want to mess with that. But as a red-blooded American woman, I love the male form as much as the next gal, and am partial to backs and intelligent eyes. So maybe a beautiful man looking over his shoulder? ;-)

Thanks for having me. I love the site and have really enjoyed the company and the view. *g*

Thank you for taking the time to answer questions, C.J. We look forward to your next book! (And are you sure you need seven months?!?)

~Bee~







Ketchup
June 2005

I had the pleasure of interviewing C.J. Barry in April of 2004, and this year she agreed to one of our Ketchup mini-interviews. She has a new book out titled UNMASKED. It is part of her UN- series that includes UNRAVELED, UNLEASHED, UNEARTHED and UNCHAINED. The books are futuristic, with strong heroines, a touch of humor, and a lot of action.

Here is an excerpt from UNMASKED:

Slowly, she turned her head back to face the giant. He’d holstered his weapon, as had the other two who had moved to either side of her. That left one rifle. She could see the collective amusement in their eyes. Apparently, they didn’t view her as a serious threat. Bad move, boys.

Without warning, she spun around, kicking the rifle to the side with her boot. She one-stepped forward and caught the pirate with a direct hit to his unprotected solar plexus with her other boot. He gave an oomph and doubled over.

The pirate on the right made the first move, and she took him out with straight jab to the nose, dropping him in his tracks. The one on the left made a grab for her. She blocked his attack and delivered quick succession of strikes to his head. He howled and clutched his face beneath the covering.

She sensed the giant close in behind her, turned and nailed him with an old-fashioned hard upper-cut to his jaw. His head snapped up, but his feet didn’t even move. Pain stung her arm, and she watched in disbelief as his head lowered, his angry gaze drilling into her. Moving faster than she thought possible, he lashed out and cuffed her bicep with a steel grip. She wrenched her body around, but not quickly enough. He grabbed her other arm and twisted her to face the man with the rifle, which had been recovered and aimed at her again. She tried to reach the giant’s groin with her heel, but he was too tall. When she went for his knee-cap, he squeezed her arms together behind her until they felt like they’d break.

As the two other pirates shook off their injuries, the leader watched her. He was dressed in black, from his well-worn boots to loose pants that wrapped narrow hips and cinched a flat torso. His shirt shimmered as it moved around broad shoulders and rolled over pronounced biceps.

He stepped up to her, his eyes hard — the silver in them coming alive like metal shards glinting in the light. His singular focus riveted her mind for a split second as an uninvited awareness thundered through her. She squelched it with visions of him laying dead on the floor with a laser hole in his head.

She raised her chin, challenging him even though she knew she was essentially helpless.

"You will never get away with this, you filthy pirate," she growled.

Bee: Please tell us what is new with you. Are you still working as an Information Technology Manager? Is Oliver still running your life? How are Rachel, Ryan and Ed?

C.J.: What a year this has been. I am no longer working as an IT Manager. My company was acquired by a big firm that centralized the IT functions and eliminated my position on March 31st. I was very sorry to leave. I'd been there for 23 years, and really enjoyed working with the great people there. So I am currently looking for a new job .

Oliver is indeed running all our lives. I swear that cat is never on the right side of the sliding glass door. The rest of the family is doing great, and keeping me running with Little League, horseback riding lessons, Boy Scouts, and piano lessons.

Bee: Tell us about UNMASKED, your new book due out this month. I enjoyed reading it but the tone seemed a little different.

C.J.: UNMASKED is about a space pirate on a mission to save as many souls from the plight of slavery as possible. As a former slave himself, he has endured the horrors and dedicated his life to stopping slavery, by any means necessary. That includes pirating to fund his operation. Torrie Masters' cargo is only one of many he steals, but she is the only captain who manages to follow him into his shady world. What she discovers is a part of society she knew existed but couldn't face, and a man she learns will die before he quits.

This story grew out of a nugget I read while researching pirates of the Caribbean. Pirates of that era viewed slavery as a direct threat to their fairly democratic way of life. If they ran across a slave ship, many times they would kill the crew and free the slaves. I wanted to explore the possibility of a pirate with great humanity. Qaade is such a man.

People have told me that each of my books has its own tone. That is a good thing. I strive to make every story unique. UNMASKED is definitely a darker tale than my other books. I delved deeper into my characters' emotions than ever before, exploring thought-provoking and sometimes painful issues. But more than anything, I wanted this story to be about hope and how one man can make a difference. About never giving up.

So maybe there is more of me in this one, I don't know. I do know one thing: this book absolutely stole my heart. *s*

Bee: Your last interview with us was about this time last year. Tell us what you have been doing besides writing UNMASKED.

C.J.: I worked my butt off for the last nine months of my job so that took the bulk of my focus and energy. I wrote a new proposal for my agent. And I penned an essay for the Pop Series by BenBella Books for the hit TV show, CHARMED. It will be out in November 2005, and if you are a CHARMED fan, you don’t want to miss this collection by experts and authors. Jennifer Crusie is the editor.

Bee: UNLEASHED finaled in both the Prism Award and in the National Reader’s Choice Award. Will you be attending the RWA National Conference in Reno, NV, in July to see if you won?

C.J.: Absolutely! And if anyone reading this is there too, please flag me down. I love attending National. I get to see all my writing friends and my editor and agent. It's a great time. The awards are both exciting and terrifying for me! But I’m truly honored to be up for these two awards. I won the NRCA last year for UNRAVELED, and it was the highlight of my writing career.

Bee: I have been enjoying the interweaving story lines of your books. What new books are planned? Whose story is next? Have you started any of your paranormal story lines?

C.J.: UNMASKED was the final book in the contract. There are no UN books on the horizon, but you never know. *s* I have a new trilogy idea that will knock your socks off, but I'm sworn to secrecy at this point. Hehehe. However , I can tell you that it's radically different and exciting.

Thanks so much for inviting me. I love the RBL board and check in as often as I can. You have the best wallpaper. *g*

Thanks again, C.J., for the Ketchup interview and for your great-fun-to-read books!

~Bee~


C.J. Barry's Website



Return to the
Index of Author Interviews.


Copyright © RBL Romantica!
All rights reserved.
Reproducing material from this site without permission is prohibited.