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 Every Wednesday, we invite authors of paranormal fiction to share snippets of their works, either published or unpublished, involving some aspect of paranormal love.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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