C. J. Cherryh (born September 1, 1942) is the slightly modified working name of United States science fiction and fantasy author Carolyn Janice Cherry, the sister of artist David A. Cherry. She has written more than 60 books since the mid-1970s, including the Hugo Award winning novels Cyteen and Downbelow Station, both set in her Alliance-Union universe. Cherryh (pronounced "Cherry") appended a silent "h" to her real name because her first editor (Donald A. Wollheim) felt that "Cherry" sounded too much like a romance writer.

(More can be found in Wikipedia)
and in CJ's website

Hello CJ and first of all thank you for your kindness. I started reading your books from the Mri Wars series. I thought it was an extraordinary fresco and an incredibly melancholic portrait of a dying civilization. Which was your main inspiration while imagining the Mri and their culture?


Curiously, it was my venture with a marine aquarium. I got to looking at it and wondering how life might evolve in a dead sea bottom. And the mri happened.

You've been considered one of the very few women who wrote space operas. Do you agree with this statement, and what's space opera on your opinion?

If you mean stories about space in which people are more prominent than hardware, yes, but there are a number of other writers: Kay Kenyon, Rebecca Meluch, and others.

Science fiction is still considered as a male dominion. Did you find difficult to get your works published because you're a woman or male chauvinism doesn't exist at all inside of the world of science fiction publishers?

No. I found it difficult to get published at first because I didn't write as well as I did when I sent books off to Don Wollheim at DAW. I just learned my craft. I don't think a publisher cares what gender a writer is as long as the book makes him/her [and most editors now are female] keep reading.

You are also considered as being a "feminist" author. Do you think that's true?

I've never liked any -ist but humanist. I have sympathy for the cultural traps we put both genders into, and I think the best course is to let people be what they want to be, not shove them into roles. There are men, for instance, who'd rather dance than anything---who can't get accepted either; or women who want to be mechanics. We're not kind to people who don't 'fit' our expectations, alas. I'd like to humanize my characters so you can identify with them no matter what gender you are.

Science fiction and fantasy: are these genres more connected than one thinks? You wrote novels of both kinds, what's your opinion?

They're both what-if. I prefer fantasy that tries to make the ancient world more like the ancients thought it was, full of gods and heroes. And I like science fiction that believes human beings can potentially be gods and heroes.

Cyteen has been defined as one of your most important books. It describes a definitely dark future, where nature is often opposed to nurture. Do you still think these are going to be our days-to-come challenge?

When we start altering our own genetic code, we're in for an interesting ride. It won't happen in a thunderbolt. We'll slip into it bit by bit. But the ability to control our own genetic destiny will change us. I think in the midst of change we'll still do the ordinary things, but look at what cellphones have done to the art of personal conversation. It's the same, but not the same.

In your books I found also another recurring theme: the tragedy of violence against the weak, such as women and children. It doesn't happen so often to find them in a science fiction novel, does it?

I think that's why I somewhat reject the 'space opera' designation for myself. You can't bash what you don't like without the risk of being wrong; and people who think they're right do an awful lot of mischief in this world.

Let's try a comparison. Orson Scott Card seems to justify Ender Wiggin's extreme violence as a consequence of his nurture. Do you agree with this point of view?


I think if you're going to commit an act of aggression [and we all tend to,be it just getting into line at the market ahead of the other guy] you have to know your own importance, and be honest with yourself---if you're getting first in line because you're a doctor and you're about to treat the guy who's having a heart attack at the counter, that's one reason to shove. If it's your daily meanness, that's another motive. Motive matters. Self-knowledge is equally significant. ARE you that important that you need to beat that obviously slow older person? It matters in the way you do your job, move through traffic, raise your kids, and deal with people in trade. It's not just in books. It's everyday life. Sometimes violence is the answer, to protect others. But if it's your mindset that that's an acceptable way to do everything, ---might makes right---that's something I can't agree with.


Speaking of your writing, how is your work like? Do you outline your story before starting the novel, or do you just start writing?


A little of both. I start, then I outline, then I write, then I outline some more. My work gets interrupted by travel so often I need to outline to make sure I don't lose threads of story.

What are you working to at the moment?

I'm working on another Foreigner book.

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