I like my bit of escapism just as much as the next person. I’ve always been fascinated with science fiction and fantasy as well. Hell, all those Santa movies from my childhood are fantasy right? I’m not a big fan of horror so any paranormal romance I write might be dark sometimes but not downright scary. At least I hope so.
As well as being another place where the rules are different these settings also allow an author to write from their heart if they want to. For me, sometimes I don’t know I’m doing it. Some theme or some issue in the world is in my head and then it pops up in my writing. In my Dragon Wine series (post-apocalyptic dragons) the world is populated by mixed race people. There is no pure anything because after the fall of the moon and the planet being mostly destroyed the survivors didn’t have the luxury of discriminating due to race because they were too busy surviving. The story is more about how low humans can go and what makes them worth saving. This was me working through the invasion of Iraq, the devastation wrought by Tsunamis and general human disregard for others.
Looking over my work I can see that there are some recurring themes. I’m interested in equality, whether that be gender or racial equality. Sometimes this might be expressed as stories that include discrimination and what it means to be human. Rayessa and the Space Pirates series starts a conversation about ‘clones’ not being considered human.
Certainly, the paranormal stories I write under my pen name, Dani Kristoff, deal with the ‘other’ too. Witches, sorcerers, werewolves and other supernatural beings who remain hidden, apart mostly due to what they think humans might do (acceptance or rejection), fear for themselves as distinct from humans and the fear of being hunted down and killed because they might be perceived as a threat. This is a recurrent theme in this type of story. Generally. Marvel’s X-men, for example, are mutants and there’s a tug of war about whether they would/should be accepted into society or not. Perceiving certain groups of people as ‘other’ is something that is present in this day and is used as a way to dehumanise them and make people ignore what is being done to them.
In my latest book, Awakening, a SF romance, I also work through issues of what it means to be human. The colonists are pure human as that was a requirement when the world was settled by Earth. They are also mixed race, deliberately, to create a harmonious society. Lurking below this world are two unknown groups who don’t fit into the norm. One of them tries to destroy the other engulfing Colony Five in conflict but also forcing the citizens to examine what it is to be human--what fundamental characteristics are required.
Awakening
Do not wake them nor let their tranquil faces beguile.
They are purveyors of death.
They must burn!
The cryptic new orders make no sense to Deleen Milo... until she sees the burning bodies in the stasis sarcophagi. She tries to uncover the truth behind the mysterious soldiers, only to become adrift in a colony suddenly full of secrets and threats. Who wants the soldiers destroyed and the colony defenceless?
Pursued into hiding, Deleen manages to revive Rik Chesson, a Cold Soldier trying to understand the new world waiting for him after 134 years of cryosleep. Deleen has never trusted easily, and Rik's nanotech-infused posthuman form sets her nerves on edge. But they are the only ones who can rescue the surviving Cold Soldiers and defend the colony against a deadly new threat. They have to work together, and as they begin to truly know one another Deleen realises that however Rik's body may have changed, the man inside might just be one she can love...
Donna Maree Hanson
In 2022, Donna completed her PhD candidature, researching Feminism in Popular Romance at the University of Canberra, Her degree was awarded on 30 March 2023. Donna lives in Canberra with her partner and fellow writer Matthew Farrer.
Visit Donna at her website.
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