Family is one of fiction's oldest themes, but some of my favorite relationships are the ones that aren't defined by blood, but by choice.
How powerful it is to see two people with a military background who begin on opposite sides of a divide slowly build mutual respect. Not because they must, or because it's convenient. But because they discover something worth preserving.
Because I write space opera and military sci fi, I find chosen bonds endlessly fascinating. They require effort. Trust. Forgiveness. They are tested repeatedly because nothing obligates either person to remain.
Perhaps that's why they feel so meaningful.
The relationships that stay with me as a reader are often the ones built piece by piece. Shared experiences become trust. Trust becomes reliance. Reliance becomes affection. Over time, people who once seemed entirely incompatible become family.
Those transformations don’t happen through grand speeches. They happen because of small decisions made repeatedly. Showing up. Keeping a promise. Offering help. Refusing to walk away.
In military sci fi, brotherhood, friendship, and loyalty are not single moments. They're accumulations of moments.
As an author, I focus on dramatic turning points. But strong relationships in fiction evolve through dozens of ordinary choices that gradually become extraordinary. That’s an ideal situation for space opera.
The relationship between Six and Pietas in my Bringer of Chaos series grew from that idea. Their story begins with hostility and distrust, but over the course of a novella and three novels, they discover that the strongest bonds in life are the ones we choose to make.
Watch Your Six releases on Aug 14th. Book 1, Origin of Pietas is free now. If you haven't started this series yet, now is a good time. It's complete, and it's a powerful example of military sci fi brotherhood.
WATCH YOUR SIX
Arrives August 14
The Empire remembers.
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My characters may be found in multiple books within this story universe.
Pietas images courtesy of Nik Nitsvetov Pietas cosplays.
Transmission complete.
The Empire remembers.
Remain. Endure. Return.
I love
Your behind the scenes peeks. And you’re so right. The idea of family being the people we choose is powerful, and so is showing it develop over time, through small actions that add up to life-defining relationships.
A little here. A little there. It piles up and either creates something or tears it down, don’t you think?
Trust is a lot more difficult when you’re supposed to be enemies.
Everyone gets some indoctrination. The enemy is always portrayed as evil and deserving of being eliminated. Getting past that to trust requires putting aside your baked-in beliefs and broadening your horizons.
These two have a chasm to cross. The thing I found that united them was each had a sense of honor that could not allow unwarranted suffering. That’s a pretty good start to a relationship.
One of my favorite romance tropes is found family. People who stick together not because of a blood relationship, but because they geniunely care for each other. And trust is a big part of that. Thanks for taking us into your writing mind, Kayelle!
Ha ha – thanks Jana. It can dark in there. 😉
Those ideals of ‘brotherhood, friendship, and loyalty’ make for great stories. Well done.
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