Hi Everyone,
October is my
favorite month, and 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.
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 writing
muscles a change of pace.
My horror short
stories are more psychological/spooky than gory, and it’s fun to add something
scary (or strange!) to 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, or 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 needed 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. Readers should know that Deke, the “werewolf” character, doesn’t
actually turn into a “wolf-man” – he’s more of a shifter 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.)
My latest
paranormal, Beauty & the Bigfoot (yes, you read that right!) blends the
world of paranormal romance with comedy. (Because, really, how can you not?)
From page one, the book doesn’t take itself seriously, and
neither should readers. It’s called a paranormal comedy for a reason.
Beauty
& the Bigfoot started out with the premise: “What if a cryptozoologist’s
daughter fell in love with a captured Bigfoot?” I liked the idea, but I wasn’t
sure where I could take it.
When
I created the character of Bigfoot/Joe, I had to make sure he wasn’t too scary
or too intimidating to Tara, the heroine. To her, he looked like a really hairy
guy. She initially blames her attraction to him “on hormones or pheromones or
the fact that she really needs a date” but later realizes that Joe is her
soulmate. I humanized Joe in several scenes, letting readers see that he’s
really not at all the monster everyone thinks he is – without giving too much
away.
The
book was a lot of fun to write and I had a great time creating the characters.
Through Tara and her eccentric father, Charlie, I was able to turn up the camp
level and add in many wacky references and asides.
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 abilities 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.
I loved showing readers
(and Rothgar) Odaria’s powers of clairvoyance, telekinesis, and psychometry.
The scenes that included the “magic” elements were a lot of fun to write. I’ve
always been interested in psychic phenomena and other New Age/paranormal
subjects, so it was easy for me to incorporate what I know into Odaria’s
character.
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
character 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.
Confessions of a Vampire’s Lover takes place at the beach – and
that’s not a place you expect to find a vampire.
Here are the book summaries and links to Beauty
& the Bigfoot and Confessions of a Vampire’s Lover.
Beauty & the
Bigfoot
Can true love exist
between the species?
Tara’s world is anything but normal. Her father is known as
the resident crackpot – just because he’s on a personal mission to catch a
Sasquatch. Despite all of the “Bigfoot evidence” cluttering their house, Tara
never really believed in Bigfoot – until the day her father brought him home.
She affectionately names her father’s prized catch ‘Joe’
and discovers there’s something oddly familiar – and erotic – about him. With a
media circus descending on her father’s ranch and a showdown brewing with the
local sheriff, Tara risks her life to save Joe.
When Tara finally succumbs to her animalistic urges, she
learns that Joe is not exactly who – or what – he seems. Joe is more than a Sasquatch
– he’s her soul mate!
Order
your copy of Beauty & the Bigfoot
here:
Confessions of a Vampire’s Lover
The moment Brian spotted Anya sitting on the moonlit beach, he was hooked.
Beautiful, smart, and sexy, Anya was the girl of his dreams. She didn’t mind
that he spent the hot summer days riding the ocean waves, because once the sun
set, he belonged to her—all night long!
Everything is perfect between them—until Brian discovers Anya’s shocking
secret. Can Brian give up the sun, sand, and surf to be with the woman he
loves?
Read Brian’s first-hand account of their unusual love story in… Confessions
of a Vampire’s Lover.
Order your
copy of Confessions of a Vampire’s
Lover here:
I hope you’ve
enjoyed this look at paranormal romances. I welcome comments and questions from readers and other authors. Feel
free to contact me via the email address on the News page of my site or on
social media.
Happy Haunting!
Kelli
