Rossman, C.L. 1946-

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ROSSMAN, C.L. 1946-

(Constance Lynn Rossman)

PERSONAL: Born November 29, 1946, in Detroit, MI; daughter of Stanley (a weights-and-measures officer) and Marcella (Hraboweicki) Choskey; married (divorsed); married (second husband deceased); married Gary L. Rossman, December 9, 1987; children: (third marriage) John C. Ethnicity: "Ukrainian, Russian, Polish." Education: Wayne State University, B.A.; Madonna College, paralegal certificate. Politics: "Liberal." Religion: "One-time Catholic, now more open." Hobbies and other interests: Nature, astronomy, wildlife, birds, cacti, reading.

ADDRESSES: Agent—c/o Author Mail, 1stBooks Library, AuthorHouse.com, 1663 Liberty Dr., Ste. 200, Bloomington, IN 47403. E-mail—kahnie@msn.com.

CAREER: Journalist and writer. Dearborn Press and Guide, Dearborn, MI, education editor; HRD and Associates, Dearborn, worked in marketing for five years; Eton Senior Center, Dearborn Heights, MI, developer and director; Dearborn Times-Herald, Dearborn, city news editor and editor for Dearborn Heights edition, c. 1975–77; Manistee News Advocate, Manistee, MI, bureau chief in Mason City, MI, c. 1997–99; writer.

MEMBER: Humane Society of the United States.

AWARDS, HONORS: John T. Lyskawa Award for news coverage, 1976.

WRITINGS:

Renegade the Hunter (science fiction), 1stBooks Library (Bloomington, IN), 2003.

Poetry represented in anthology New Voices in American Poetry, American Literary Press, 1975.

WORK IN PROGRESS: Renegade the Warrior; Dreamseeker's Journal.

SIDELIGHTS: C.L. Rossman told CA: "I have become obsessed with the Hunting People, a species of civilized carnivores with a unique world view. Renegade is their prototype; he embodies the conflict and tension in their society, as well as their triumphs. On their home world, a number of clans live in different habitats, people all marked and colored differently. Basically they do not make war because no one wants the others' territory. However, a hybrid youngster, born of parents from different clans, would represent a threat, a possible breakdown of their society. Many such unions are banned. Because Renegade is a hybrid, his family has left the home world to seek out greater acceptance and freedom among the star worlds, which have largely been settled by hybrid freeholders. He must learn to protect and defend his people, surviving an increasingly difficult series of wilderness tests. This culminates in the last and most deadly of all—the master hunt—where he must triumph or fail and die. Through his life experiences, he will come to regard his people as one people, despite their differences in clan, markings, and color.

"Renegade the Hunter introduces a number of themes, including, obviously, discrimination. It also asks if a society can have a high technology and still keep its world natural and pristine. How do the people keep from killing each other? What kind of changes of lifestyle result when the greater tribal family breaks up and smaller nuclear families result? For example, the star-born have greater child-care duties, which greatly changes their lives, keeping one parent at home. What if young people could earn a lifelong title through their own skill? What kind of confidence and self-respect does this give them? I have been writing about Renegade and his people for ten years now, and no end is in sight. They fascinate me.

"My writing process usually starts with a 'what if' question. This becomes a written statement, which percolates into a series of movie-reel-like scenes as the plot develops. I have to write furiously to catch up, in most cases. Renegade the Hunter was written this way, in a fever heat. It is some of the most passionate writing I have ever done, and the best.

"Most science fiction novels assume aliens are bad or evil. What if they are better than humans? They live by a code of honor and Hunt Law. What happens when these societies clash? I happen to like carnivores, especially felines. I started to think about what kind of society feline descendants would need in order to coexist. I came up with proud and powerful hunters who can live together in larger groups because they abide by a strict code of honor. They have rituals of greeting which cut down on fighting. Even their fights are personal, one on one, conducted in the place where honor demands. Yet some tension remains. It is Renegade's destiny to unite his people in an unexpected way. His personality grows and changes as we follow him and he is shaped by events in his life.

"Renegade the Hunter is a book for adults and older teens, but many of Renegade's adventures were told as bedtime stories, for childish ears, to my son John when he was younger. What I hope to tell people through this book is that we too are one people, despite our physical differences; perhaps we could learn something from the hunters."