Saturday, October 17, 2015

For the Love of Shapeshifter Romances by Susan Lute

DRAGONKIND CHRONICLES
BOOK
1
As I'm writing this post, I'm watching The Wedding Date, a classic romance if ever there was one, and one that's right up my alley. Fun. Quirky. Unexpected. I'm also making a new version of teriyaki chicken with baked potatoes. Multitasking. Since there's never enough time in a day, that's a skill writers need.

But this is about dragons. I'm a little obsessed with them. I've always loved paranormal romances, just never envisioned myself writing one. Nor did I set out to write dragon shapeshifters on purpose. It was more the result of a temper tantrum, believe it or not, and came about while on a flight to Norman, Oklahoma to see the hubby. Women's fiction was tanking. My agent, who worked her little heart out, had just received another rejection from an editor we thought was on the verge of buying.

That's when the shift happened. I thought...I'll try anything. Anything that's not women's fiction or contemporary. So...Logan Pen, Beyla, the Umbra, and The Dragonkind Chronicles were born. At a lusty, crowded bar, in a post apocalyptic New Orleans, they came to life. He'd come to capture an elusive shadow thief. She escapes after stealing his greatest treasure—a talisman forged at his birth on the night of the apocalypse. Of course there's more at stake than the loss of his telein. That's what kept me writing to the end. It took eight months to write that story and I enjoyed every minute of the process.

Why do we, as readers, love paranormal romances? I think we relate to a world gone a bit sideways. We're willing to take the journey in order to see if good overcomes evil. Along the way, the discovery that things are not exactly as they seem answers age old questions. Who are we? Are we alone in this universe? The answer to that in my universe is a world inhabited by dragons, shadow thieves, shaman, the phoenix (a hint of what's to come), Avalon, more dragons, fallen angels, all recorded in the Dragonkind Chronicles. We want to fight on the side of good. Victory is our reward.

The cool thing about paranormal romances is that the genre draws it's multitude of fans into the story's central struggle, takes them on a ride, invites them to be part of the triumphant party at the end. The stories and legends are gripping, interactive, and best of all uber-satisfying. Some of my favorite shapeshifter storytellers are Rebecca Zanetti, Jessa Slade, Elsa Jade, and  J.T. Geissinger. Who are yours?

SUSAN LUTE
Susan Lute is an award winning, multi-published traditional and Indie author. She is published in women's fiction, contemporary romance, and paranormal/fantasy romance. Her most recent release is A FOOL FOR LOVE, Book One of the Sellwood Novellas. Look for the second book in The Dragonkind Chronicles, DRAGON'S FLAME, coming out in 2016. You can find Susan at www.susanlute.com. Visit and sign up for her newsletter, Su's News, to be one of the first to hear about new releases and special deals.


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4 comments:

Sarah Raplee said...

I love that your amazing Shifter series came in a temper tantrum! Maybe that's partly what made you choose a fiery hero! I agree that people like Paranormal stories partly to go along on a wild or at least unpredictable ride. I'm so glad you are working on a sequel to Dragon's Thief!

Thank you for Guesting at RTG.

Diana McCollum said...

I like paranormal because of the wonderful escapism. It's fun to imagine magic in our everyday world. Thanks for a great blog post.

Judith Ashley said...

Thanks for guesting with us, Su! Who knew that a temper tantrum could turn into such wonderful stories!!! "A Fool For Love" starts a new series - The Sellwood Novellas. Does this one have dragons in it also? I used to live a couple of blocks from the Sellwood neighborhood in Portland. Now that I think of it...?

Susan said...

Good morning :) Thanks for letting me come and play.

Judith, the Sellwood Novellas are a new series I'm doing with Darla Luke and Ginger Kent. No dragons, sadly, but Darla's book comes out this month, and my next book comes out in January.

Sarah, ha, I'm a Leo, so the connection to the dragons is definitely fire based, though I didn't plan it that way :)

Diana, {{{waving}}} Thanks for coming by.