Hi Everyone,
To celebrate my favorite month, I’m writing about what
happens when horror meets romance—paranormal romance!
Although I create hot and spicy romances, I actually started
out writing horror stories. For some, that might seem like an odd combination,
but it works for me. One half of my brain writes the horror, and the other half
writes the romance. (In fact, I have published three horror ebooks. You can
read more about them on my site or my Amazon author page.)
I like writing horror fiction because I get to explore
different settings, plots, and characters that I couldn’t develop in romance.
Sometimes after working on several romances, I’ll switch moods and write a
horror story to give my brain and writing muscles a change of pace.
My horror short stories are more psychological/spooky/creepy
than gory, but it’s always fun to add something scary (or strange!) into a
romance. Sometimes it’s hard to keep a paranormal romance within bounds—you
have to blend just enough horror elements into the love story without grossing
out (or turning off) the heroine or hero… or readers!
Other times, the challenge to writing a good paranormal
romance is creating a believable plot or finding a way to make a “monster”
attractive/romantic/sexy. If one of your characters is a monster (of the
non-human variety) you must believe your creature is real, whether he’s a
vampire, a werewolf, or something else entirely.
If you don’t write the creature believably, readers won’t
buy into it, and there certainly won’t be any sparks flying in your romance. As
a writer, you need to make your monster as real as any other human character
and flesh him out completely with a backstory, goals, motivation, and
conflicts. (What kind of monster is he? How did he get that way? What is life
like for him?)
My contemporary paranormal, Confessions of a Vampire’s Lover
started out with the premise “What if a vampire went to the beach and fell in
love with a surfer?” The book is extra “unique” in that it’s told in first
person from the male character’s point of view.
I made Anya (the vampire) sympathetic and sexy, and not
overtly terrifying—yet she still flexed her vampire muscles when she wanted to.
This story could have easily gone down the horror road and become a
full-fledged vampire story, but I wanted to show a softer, kinder side to the
Anya and embrace her once-human side.
My gay paranormal, Killer in Wolf’s Clothing is not your
usual werewolf love story. Deke, the “werewolf” character, doesn’t actually
turn into a “wolf-man”—he’s more of a shapeshifter who transforms into a
super-aggressive Alpha male during the full moon. As I say in the book, “It’s
more Incredible Hulk than American Werewolf in London.”
I almost had a problem writing Killer in Wolf’s Clothing
because I’m “old-school” when it comes to creatures of the night. I expect my
werewolves to be violent and vicious, and anything but cuddly. In my opinion,
if a person is going to turn into a werewolf/wolf-man, he should look like the
werewolves in Dog Soldiers. (A horror movie I highly recommend.)
As I wrote the book, I contrasted Deke’s harsh and demanding
personality with that of his gentle alter-ego Greg. Greg understands his
condition and does everything he can to keep Deke suppressed. But Deke is a
badass with a serious need for revenge, and the antagonist, Blayne, is just
about as violent and vicious as you can get (without fangs and claws). I
enjoyed writing this story, and although it’s dark in places, Larry (Greg’s
boyfriend) lightens the mood with his offbeat sense of humor.
Killer in Wolf’s Clothing is not your typical werewolf or
werewolf/shifter romance. Some people might have a problem or take issue with
the subject matter, the use of humor, and/or my treatment of shifters (what
they expect a shifter to be could be quite different from my interpretation) in
this book. Yes, it’s very different. Yes, it’s graphic. And yes, you either
“get” it or you don’t.
And the same goes for Beauty & the Bigfoot. It’s a
paranormal-comedy that starts with the premise: “What if a Bigfoot hunter’s
daughter falls in love with Bigfoot?” I took a lighthearted look at the whole
subject of Sasquatch, blended in some wacky lead characters, and added pretty
hot love scenes. I don’t want to give away the ending, but not everything about
Bigfoot is what it seems. He’s not the “monster” everyone thinks he is.
The Viking’s Witch is a historical romance with paranormal
elements set in Scotland. The heroine, Odaria, is what they called a witch back
then—nowadays we’d call her a psychic and a healer. Odaria’s “magic” is the
catalyst that sets the story in motion. When the book opens, Odaria is about to
be burned alive for being a witch. She calls down a spell and curses the
villagers while unknowingly invoking a Viking raid. Or so it seems…
Odaria uses her “powers” for self-preservation and to get
revenge on the people who hurt her. Rothgar (the hero) doesn’t believe in her
“magic” and thinks she’s merely pretending to be a witch to frighten people.
But after a highly-charged interaction with Brennan (the villain), Rothgar gets
a taste of what Odaria could really do if she set her mind to it.
Vampires, shapeshifters, witches… no matter what subgenre of
paranormal romance you write, readers need to be swept into the story and buy
into the premise that you’ve created. Your job as a writer is to make the
reader believe in the paranormal element (whether it’s a werewolf, zombie,
vampire, or ghost) and take the reader on a journey with the main characters as
they fall in love. The situations in the story need to be plausible and told in
a way that grips the reader, even if the premise seems a bit far-fetched (at
first).
When writing paranormal romance, don’t be afraid to break
patterns, make your characters different, or have them go against stereotype.
Give readers something unexpected, turn a cliché on its ear, or use a different
point of view—it’ll make your work stand out.
Order Confessions of a Vampire’s Lover here:
All other platforms: https://books2read.com/u/49xp1J
Order Killer in Wolf’s Clothing here:
All other platforms: https://www.books2read.com/u/mYRB6x
Order Beauty & the Bigfoot here:
All other platforms: https://books2read.com/u/4Dog0Q
Order The Viking’s Witch here:
All other platforms: https://books2read.com/u/4EQe0o
I hope you’ve enjoyed this look at paranormal romances. I
like hearing from readers, so feel free to drop me a line with questions or
comments. You can catch up on all of my writings and follow me on social media
via the links on my contact page.
Happy Haunting!
Kelli
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