I
write paranormal romance, and that blend of woo-woo and woo-hoo seems perfectly
natural to me (or should I say supernatural?) because, really, love has to be
one of the most fantastical notions out there.
 |
| Jessa Slade |
I’m
always surprised when I encounter non-romance readers who say they are
surprised that my
lovers are demons and deadly fairies and other dark and spooky folk. Hasn’t love made everyone do crazy and wondrous—even dangerous—things? Of COURSE love and magic go together! Like chocolate and… chocolate syrup with chocolate sprinkles.
No
other story sinks as deep as a vampire’s fangs and no other takes us as high as
a dragon shifter’s wings. But I think the enduring allure of a paranormal
romance is the truth at its heart: we are all the same inside. We may feel
strange and alone but we dream of finding a soul mate with whom we can fight and
love and save our world. In that way, the most outlandish paranormal romance is
as “real” as anything.
lovers are demons and deadly fairies and other dark and spooky folk. Hasn’t love made everyone do crazy and wondrous—even dangerous—things? Of COURSE love and magic go together! Like chocolate and… chocolate syrup with chocolate sprinkles.
Paranormal
romance takes all the sensations of a passionate encounter—the urge to howl at
the moon, that itchy feeling we are coming out of our own skin, the desire to
bite and claim, that seeming union of souls, the wish to live forever in our
love—and pushes those feelings to the utmost outer limits. While I also enjoy
the quieter romances with their real-world issues and relatable heroes and
heroines, in the end I always find myself circling back to the weird and the
wild. My imagination is captured by the powerful heroines and the heroes with
their six-pack abs and menacing tattoos. Unbelievable? Maybe. Or maybe we just
need to expand our beliefs.
No
other story sinks as deep as a vampire’s fangs and no other takes us as high as
a dragon shifter’s wings. But I think the enduring allure of a paranormal
romance is the truth at its heart: we are all the same inside. We may feel
strange and alone but we dream of finding a soul mate with whom we can fight and
love and save our world. In that way, the most outlandish paranormal romance is
as “real” as anything.
I
think that is worth believing in.
Is
there a paranormal romance world you’d like to live in? Which paranormal
romance hero would tempt you to throw away real life and run off to the
fantasy? Leave a comment for a chance to win your choice of one book from my
Steel Born series (DARK HUNTER’S TOUCH, A LITTLE NIGHT MUSE, MATED BY
MOONLIGHT, or DARK PRINCE’S DESIRE).
***
Despite
a grade school aptitude test that predicted she would become a farmer, Jessa
Slade followed her wandering imagination into writing paranormal romance, urban
fantasy romance and science fiction romance. The fourth book in her Steel Born
series, DARK PRINCE’S DESIRE, comes out in November from Harlequin Nocturne
Cravings.
9 comments:
I really enjoy paranormal romance and have since first discovering it. I found a copy of Christine Feehan's, Dark Desire at a library sale. I remember thinking man that's awesome but so weird and loving it. From there I was on a hunt and going to any bookstore I could find trying to find the other books in her series. I was hooked. Later I discovered there were other authors as well and now my own house looks like a library of mostly paranormal but historical romances also.
Thanks for sharing. I enjoyed the post :)
Lori
lorih824 at yahoo dot com
I love paranormal! I lean towards magic, and witches in my choices of books to read. Although, a good shape shifter book will find it's way on to my book shelf. Great post!
I enjoy stories where characters have special talents like ESP, healing powers, precognition, etc. That's why I enjoy Jayne Ann Krentz's quaint mystery novels very much.
Thought provoking post, Jessa. I've never really thought about paranormal romance in the way you described it...but it does make sense. It's not a genre I read so I don't have a hero to pick but by the end of this month where we are featuring paranormal romance authors that may change.
Lori, "awesome and weird" pretty much encompasses paranormal romance :) Thanks for reading!
Diana, witches are popular these days. There's that new TV series Witches of East End that looks like rompy, ridiculous fun.
Shobhan, do you read the Amanda Quick historicals and the Jayne Castle futuristics too, or do you stick just with the JAK contemporaries? They all have quirks too them that are really fun.
Judith, we'll find the right paranormal hero for you yet!
I enjoyed your thoughtful post, Jessa. One of the reasons I love paranormal and science fiction romances, besides the ones you mentioned, is that they remind us that there is more to the universe than meets the eye and that it is full of endless possibilities.
My family has members with some rudimentary psychic abilities, so I love characters dealing with their own abilities.
I have loved all your heroes, Jessa!
Hi Jessa, I prefer Native American shapeshifters, ghosts, and witches over the other paranormal creatures.
Thanks, Sarah! I grew up reading SFF, so "endless possibilities" was always an important part of reading for me. Add the possibility of endless love and I was hooked forever :)
Paty, if you can read about wendigos without getting the shivers, eventually we will win you over to the dark side ;)
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