Thursday, March 26, 2015
Why paranormal?
Although I'm not totally paranormal author, I'm published in historical romance and am trying myself in suspense romance, people often ask why I write paranormal.
The main reason is, when I write paranormal, I resurrect a local legend. And there are no shortage of them from my native Croatia. With such rich and long history, things were bound to happen, and among aristocracy free love between young people was rarely allowed.
In those days marrying off for a title or better social status were main reasons to tie a knot. Only peasants down on the ground married for love. But that doesn't mean that love among aristocrats didn't happen. It did. However, it was a forbidden love and often ended tragically.
One such tragic love from the later part of 17th century is a base for my newest release titled "Rose of Crimson". It's often referred to as Croatian Romeo and Juliet. Only in this love from Renaissance times, the lovers' family did not kiss and make up at their children's funereal.
I kept this story as it was retold through the centuries, but I had to make a small change to bring the main characters back to life. I had to make them immortal. Or it would be yet another retold story many heard of over and over again.
This new twist gave the story a much needed fresh breath. I've also added a character who is fascinated with the story and would do anything to hear every detail of how it played. Kate gets her wish, but in the process pays with her heart.
The main reason is, when I write paranormal, I resurrect a local legend. And there are no shortage of them from my native Croatia. With such rich and long history, things were bound to happen, and among aristocracy free love between young people was rarely allowed.
In those days marrying off for a title or better social status were main reasons to tie a knot. Only peasants down on the ground married for love. But that doesn't mean that love among aristocrats didn't happen. It did. However, it was a forbidden love and often ended tragically.
One such tragic love from the later part of 17th century is a base for my newest release titled "Rose of Crimson". It's often referred to as Croatian Romeo and Juliet. Only in this love from Renaissance times, the lovers' family did not kiss and make up at their children's funereal.
I kept this story as it was retold through the centuries, but I had to make a small change to bring the main characters back to life. I had to make them immortal. Or it would be yet another retold story many heard of over and over again.
This new twist gave the story a much needed fresh breath. I've also added a character who is fascinated with the story and would do anything to hear every detail of how it played. Kate gets her wish, but in the process pays with her heart.
My Bio: A
member of the Romance Writers of America and its chapter Kiss Of Death, as well
as Savvy Authors, Zrinka Jelic writes contemporary fiction—which leans toward
the paranormal—and always adds a pinch of history. Her characters come from all
walks of life, and although she prefers red, romance comes in many colors. Given
Jelic’s love for her native Croatia and the Adriatic Sea, her characters usually
find themselves dealing with a fair amount of sunshine, but a little fall of rain
is unavoidable in everyone’s life.
Thursday, March 19, 2015
Spooky Symphonies
I love music.
Music helps with those everyday things that need to
get done, like housework and laundry. With Bruno Mars singing “Uptown Funk”
loudly in the background, the dull and dreary chores aren’t so bad.
I find listening to music when I write sets a certain tone
and gets my muse going. Dave Matthews is always good for a softer or love scene
as is some hard rock for an action scene.
My newfound obsession on Pandora is Spooky Symphonies. I’ve
discovered some wonderful music. We all know the ‘one’ famous song from Alfred
Hitchcock’s Psycho, but the whole soundtrack, written by Bernard Herrmann is beautifully haunting and creepy.
The Exorcist, also well known for ‘one’ song, is a great
eerie soundtrack written and performed by different composers.
BTW, these are two of my favorite movies!
I recently wrote a short dark fiction story while listening to the music from the 1992 movie, Dracula, written and
performed by Wojciech Kilar. Atmospheric and dramatic, it helped me create an
unsettling mood and up the tension in my story. I hope so, anyway!
Dick Clark once said, “Music is the soundtrack of your
life.”
Spooky Symphonies have become the soundtrack of my
character’s lives.
Do you have a favorite spooky song?
Do you have a favorite spooky song?
********
Debbie Christiana writes paranormal romance, dark romantic fiction and short dark fiction.
You can find her:
Website: www.debbiechristiana.com
Facebook: Debbie Christiana, Author
Twitter: @DebChristiana
Thursday, March 12, 2015
Does Paranormal Romance Allow Us To Indulge Our Darker Side?
Welcome to the Paranormal Love Wednesday Blog Hop, where we celebrate paranormal romance in all its many forms! Every Wednesday, we invite authors of paranormal fiction to share snippets of their works, either published or unpublished, involving some aspect of paranormal love.
In my first entry on the Paranormal Love Features page, I noted that even those paranormal stories that don't focus on romance in some way tie in to our deep-seated connection to the sexuality of the paranormal. Sexy vampires, for example, have been with us for quite a while—and long before vampires were openly sexy, they carried a sexual connotation.
In Bram Stoker's original novel, for example, Dracula has hairy palms (and for some great information about the historical connections between masturbation and hairy palms, check out this excellent article). Carmilla, from Sheridan Le Fanu's 1871 novel, seduces her female victim in scenes of pretty heavy-duty sublimated eroticism. Lord Ruthven from Polidori's The Vampyre seduces virtually every woman with whom he crosses paths. And the blood exchange between vampires and their creations is often a heavily eroticized version of other exchanges of bodily fluids.
Similarly, werewolves and other shapeshifters appeal to our animalistic sides—the parts of us that want to let go and revel in violence and/or sexuality. And hardly a traditional monster is without its seductive side. Incubi and succubae are openly sexual, drawing energy to survive from the seduction of their victims. Early witches were said to have "congress with the beast" (or sex with Satan). And demons offered people their hearts' desires in return for their souls.
As a general rule, I would argue (as many others have) that our monsters illustrate our deepest, darkest desires. In our cultures, we create that which both frightens and entices us. And then we depict it over and over again, as many ways as possible, as often as possible, because these depictions are safe outlets for our less cultured selves.
Given that, paranormal love offers us a way to indulge the parts of ourselves that we might not openly share in our daily, structured lives. These stories allow us to be the monsters and the victims, the lover and the beloved. They allow us to delve into the parts of us we don't usually let out into the light—and in doing so, they allow us to understand ourselves, and one another, better than we might otherwise.
So if you love vampires, shapeshifters, demons, witches, faeries, incubi, succubae, or even the occasional ghost or goblin, click on the entries below to HOP to the entries!
But before you go, tell us: what do you love most about paranormal love?
Thursday, March 5, 2015
Is paranormal romance lightening up?
Granted, there are countless stories published everyday about vamps with smoldering stares and Alpha shifters of all stripes who wouldn't crack a smile if someone presented their next victim on a silver tray.
And yet, I've noticed a bit of a change recently with a few paranormal romances trending toward romantic comedy. How I welcome that.
Since I have an irreverent sense of humor (some might call it warped), I find it easy to write witty banter and out-of-the-box scenes. Screwball comedy if you will.
Could be that's why I've been such a huge fan of MaryJanice Davidson's Undead series.
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Romance Books 4 US: http://bit.ly/1JPtfeS
And yet, I've noticed a bit of a change recently with a few paranormal romances trending toward romantic comedy. How I welcome that.
Since I have an irreverent sense of humor (some might call it warped), I find it easy to write witty banter and out-of-the-box scenes. Screwball comedy if you will.
Could be that's why I've been such a huge fan of MaryJanice Davidson's Undead series.
And movies in the same vein. Couple of months back, I caught that old flick Love at First Bite on the Internet.
Although I wanted to watch The Walking Dead (hey, it's the definition of grim), I'm glad I saw the movie. It was a riot, and got me to thinking about supernatural creatures, not as perfect Alphas with bulging biceps and the sex drives of the Energizer bunny, but as messed up beings who are just trying to get through the day like the rest of us. Hey, Superman has his problem with Kryptonite, doesn't he? And werewolves get hairier than Alec Baldwin when they're faced with a full moon.
There's comic gold in that, and I'm glad I'm seeing more of it, because that's what I'm writing now with my newest series Taming the Beast. A lighthearted look at supernatural beings, including a witch, a minor god, a demon, a good fairy, and a voodoo priestess who don't have all the answers. Hey, most of the time they're not sure of the questions.
So what do you like? Brooding beasts, a dash of wicked comedy thrown in, or a little of both?
About Me (You
know you want to know!):
I’m an award-winning, bestselling
novelist in erotic, paranormal, contemporary and historical romance for Samhain
Publishing, Ellora’s Cave, Siren Publishing, Booktrope, indie, and Kensington. Yay! Booklist, Publisher’s Weekly, Romantic
Times and numerous online sites have praised my work, and trust me, I’m
forever grateful for that. I’ve had my books reach finals in the EPIC
competition, one title was named Book of the Year at a review site, and others
have won awards in RWA-sponsored contests. I’m actually featured in the 2012
Novel & Short Story Writer’s Market. Talk about feeling like a freaking
star. Before my writing career, I was the editor of an award–winning Midwestern
newspaper and worked in Story Direction for a Hollywood production company.
Outside of being an admitted and unrepentant chocoholic, I’ve flown a
single-engine plane (scary stuff), rewired an old house using an electricity
for dummies book, and have been known to moan like Meg Ryan in When Harry Met Sally whenever I’m eating
anything Mexican or Italian. Yeah, I like to eat (burp).
You can check me out here – yes, I
am everywhere! J
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