Barbarian’s Bride by Ruby Dixon
Author’s Note
Hello there!
It’s hard to believe that I started the first Ice Planet Barbarians book in 2015. That feels like forever ago! I think it’s one reason why I put off writing the last one for so long? I never wanted it to end. :)
But way back in 2015, I had read literally everything on the market that had an alien in it, and I was frustrated because there wasn’t a lot that hit the sweet spot of what I wanted to see more of. So when I was feeling particularly fried between deadlines and tired of bikers, I decided to dust off an old file of mine that I’d entitled ‘Symbiont Romance’ (tapeworms! so sexy!) and give it a shot. I didn’t have it all quite nailed down in my head. Some readers will notice that there’s a darker tone to book one, and Vektal carries a sword while everyone else uses spears. At that point I was just sort of figuring things out and having a blast. Never in my wildest dreams did I think that I’d write a twenty-something book series PLUS a spinoff series. I didn’t think anyone would want to follow me for six books (the original plan if all went well!) much less write me and demand stories of the children of the characters.
But here we are! And I’m so happy to be here and to have shared this world with you. It started out a little dark, but as I found my footing, it turned into less of a story about a bleak alien landscape and more about finding community on the fringes of the universe. It became about friends and re-learning skills most people have forgotten, and it became about finding your person.
Specifically, it became about finding your person and learning how to be a couple.
I kind of love that aspect about the stories. I love that no one’s changing who they are to meet someone else’s needs but more about meeting in the middle and figuring out how to get what you want without compromising who you are.
Which brings me to this story. Nora’s character formed for me when in book 3, Kira overhears (thanks to the translator in her ear) Nora being spanked in bed and demanding more. I thought it was just a funny, awkward moment, but a friend of mine immediately wrote me and said “Oooh, she’s kinky!”
Clueless me was like, she is? But then the wheels in my head started turning, and I thought about how that would play out. How the heck do you explain BDSM to a neolithic people who have been very short on women for a very long time? How do you explain to a virgin hero who comes from a culture that’s extremely protective of mates that you need someone to be rough with you in bed and that being kind and gentle will absolutely not give you an orgasm?
Naturally I had to write a story about it. :)
I hope it reads as fun and sincere and above all, as consenting. I liked the angle of Dagesh having to figure out how he can give Nora what she needs without feeling like he’s turning into something that he wouldn’t be happy with. I also liked that he had a safe-word of his own when he felt things were getting out of his depth.
Speaking of Dagesh - someone on Facebook pointed out that in an early book, Dagesh was mentioned as being the sibling of a few barbarians but in later stories, he has no family. They wanted to know why.
There is an easy explanation for this: I am a ding-a-ling. You know how when your brain is all “Say hi” or “Say how are you” and what comes out is “How are hi?” Yeah. That’s pretty much me writing most of my books. Lol. I will think of a character and know that his name is Harrec. I will tell myself, “Write the name Harrec” and what I will write is ‘Hassen’. Because my brain knows which character I’m referring to (the goofball mate of Kate!) but my hands just type the first H-name that springs to mind.
Sorry for any confusion. :)
Speaking of things I wanted to touch upon, I would also like to give a shout out to my good friend Alicia, who read this for me and advised me on aspects of cultural Judaism. If I got anything wrong, it’s absolutely my fault for misinterpreting a conversation. I’ve always strove to deliberately keep religion out of the Ice Planet Barbarian books because for me, I’m writing stories about love that crosses all kinds of boundaries, cultural, alien, or otherwise, and religion often becomes a very hairy situation very quickly and can make readers feel excluded rather than included, and that’s not my goal. That being said, I didn’t want to ignore Nora’s Judaism if the character has referenced it in the past. I tried to represent her authentically without deep-diving into religion itself, and if I messed it up, my apologies.
For those of you that are sad (like me!) that this is the last story of the Croatoan tribe, I’m not leaving the planet! We’re continuing on with Icehome, and I have no doubt that our beloved characters will continue to pop up on the pages. I’ve been asked about prequels. I’ve been asked about the next generation. I’ve been asked to crash an entire new fleet of space ships (lol) so we can have more characters and more romances. :)
I’m not entirely sure what the next series will shape up to be, but rest assured that I’m not done with the planet!
Love to you all!
— Ruby
