Guest Post by Lauralynn Elliott: Why Paranormal Romance?
Today I have something new for you. My friend Lauralynn Elliott and I are trading guest posts on the topic: Why Paranormal Romance? I hope you enjoy reading Lauralynn's take on the topic, and then pop on over to her blog to find out more about her and read my post. :)
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Iwant to thank J.R. for having me on her blog today. This is my first guestpost, so I'm not sure if I'm going to say anything remotely interesting.
Whyparanormal romance? I think it was kind of a natural progression for me. I canremember when I was younger I just devoured romances. Most of them werehistorical romances, but I also read contemporary romances. I loved theinteraction between the two main characters, and although I knew there would bea happy ending, I still felt this kind of suspense. There was always this thingin the back of my mind wondering if they really would get together in the end.I was a big fan of happily ever after.
Nowlet's talk about the paranormal part. When I was about seven years old, mygrandmother started watching this soap opera that was very different from theusual story line. There was a vampire! And, later, ghosts and werewolves! Iremember rushing home from school every day, anxious to see Dark Shadows. It'sfunny that I'm watching the old episodes on Netflix now. Dark Shadows was theshow that spawned my love for the paranormal. It was just spooky enough for meas a child without being too scary. There was romance on the show, too, but itwas kind of twisted because of the vampire's obsessions, but I didn't reallyunderstand that part back then.
Ialways wanted to be a writer. I don't know why or at what point I abandonedthat dream, but I did. Then, about three or four years ago, I met a writer whohadn't yet published anything, but she was working toward that. I told herabout my dream and she told me to go for it. She encouraged me until I finallysat down and wrote a paranormal romance. I put together my love for romance andmy love for the paranormal, and that's what came out. That was my firstpublished novel, A Rocky Path. This was a ghost story, which is my favoritething to write. Don't get me wrong, I love vampires, but ghosts are my truelove. There's just something about a spooky old house, a haunted lake, or amysterious man by a rocky shore that send chills (good ones!) down my back. Ilove the thrills from paranormal stories and also from romantic stories. Sowhat better way to get double thrills than to put the two together! So now Iwrite about ghosts, vampires, elves, and wizards. One of the great things aboutwriting paranormal romance is there aren't a lot of rules. There are no suchthings as vampires, so no one can tell you what a vampire is supposed to belike. You can take your imagination to the limit with paranormal romance. Youcan still have the hot, sizzling love story with great love scenes, but you canamp up the sizzle with a character that's full of mystery.
Whydo I write paranormal romance? It's really simple. Because it's so much fun!
LauralynnElliott is an author of paranormal and fantasy romance books publishedindependently in primarily electronic format. You will find everything fromvampires and ghosts to elves and wizards in her novels and novellas. She enjoysputting a little bit of a different twist on some of the old ideas about ourfavorite fictional characters. Lauralynn lives in the southeastern UnitedStates with her husband of "several" years. She enjoys reading,playing computer games, and spending time with friends.
J.R.says:
Here'show you can learn more about Lauralynn Elliott. Check out her blog, and her authorpage at Amazon.
Forone of those ghost stories Lauralynn mentioned, how about her book HauntedLake?
HauntedLake by Lauralynn Elliott
Afterlosing her best friend in a fire, Rachel Madison rents a cabin on Misty Lake,trying to work through her guilt and sorrow. While there, she meets two men,one good looking and friendly and the other handsome, but scarred. Soon, sherealizes that the peace she was trying to find here wasn't to be, as supernaturalevents begin to take place. The strange encounters with ghosts at the lakecause Rachel to form a strong bond of friendship with the two men. The threefriends move closer and closer to danger as the events unfold to a possibletragic result.
Excerpt:
Danielwas looking at her intently, and she nervously picked up her tea cup and took asip of the hot liquid. Daniel smiled slightly and did the same.
"Youseem a little ill at ease, Rachel. I'm not making you nervous, am I?"
"Ofcourse not. Why should I be nervous?"
"Oh,I don't know," he said, putting down his cup and taking hers out of her handand putting it down as well. "Maybe because you're afraid I might kissyou?" Her heart fluttered as he laid his palm against her face and drew hertoward him. He lightly brushed his lips against hers, making her insides quiverwith both anxiety and excitement. It had been a very long time since she hadbeen in this kind of situation and she didn't know exactly what she wanted todo. Daniel's hands dropped to her waist and her hands twined around behind hisneck as his kiss deepened and his warm lips parted. She felt his tongue seekingentrance and she opened herself to his exploration. Their embrace tightened aspassion flared between them. But then, something strange happened. She suddenlyfelt as if she wasn't quite herself. It was almost as if she was someone elseand Daniel wasn't really Daniel. It was disorienting and she pulled away fromDaniel.
"Whatin the world just happened?" he asked in startled voice.
"Whatdo you mean?" asked Rachel, wondering if he had felt the same odd sensationthat she had.
"Idon't know. It was weird. One minute I was enjoying kissing the sexiest womanI've met in a long time; the next, I felt like someone was in there with me."
"Idon't understand," she said evasively.
"Hey,you felt it, too, didn't you?" he accused.
"Feltwhat?"
"Comeon, Rachel, I know you felt something strange happening. I can tell by the lookon your face that you know what I'm talking about."
"Well,I thought I felt something. But I figured I was imagining things."
Hestood up. "This is just getting too weird. First the talk about ghosts, nowthis feeling of…I don't know…possession. I think I need to go home now. Maybewhen I wake up in the morning, the world will be back to normal."
********
Iwant to thank J.R. for having me on her blog today. This is my first guestpost, so I'm not sure if I'm going to say anything remotely interesting.
Whyparanormal romance? I think it was kind of a natural progression for me. I canremember when I was younger I just devoured romances. Most of them werehistorical romances, but I also read contemporary romances. I loved theinteraction between the two main characters, and although I knew there would bea happy ending, I still felt this kind of suspense. There was always this thingin the back of my mind wondering if they really would get together in the end.I was a big fan of happily ever after.
Nowlet's talk about the paranormal part. When I was about seven years old, mygrandmother started watching this soap opera that was very different from theusual story line. There was a vampire! And, later, ghosts and werewolves! Iremember rushing home from school every day, anxious to see Dark Shadows. It'sfunny that I'm watching the old episodes on Netflix now. Dark Shadows was theshow that spawned my love for the paranormal. It was just spooky enough for meas a child without being too scary. There was romance on the show, too, but itwas kind of twisted because of the vampire's obsessions, but I didn't reallyunderstand that part back then.
Ialways wanted to be a writer. I don't know why or at what point I abandonedthat dream, but I did. Then, about three or four years ago, I met a writer whohadn't yet published anything, but she was working toward that. I told herabout my dream and she told me to go for it. She encouraged me until I finallysat down and wrote a paranormal romance. I put together my love for romance andmy love for the paranormal, and that's what came out. That was my firstpublished novel, A Rocky Path. This was a ghost story, which is my favoritething to write. Don't get me wrong, I love vampires, but ghosts are my truelove. There's just something about a spooky old house, a haunted lake, or amysterious man by a rocky shore that send chills (good ones!) down my back. Ilove the thrills from paranormal stories and also from romantic stories. Sowhat better way to get double thrills than to put the two together! So now Iwrite about ghosts, vampires, elves, and wizards. One of the great things aboutwriting paranormal romance is there aren't a lot of rules. There are no suchthings as vampires, so no one can tell you what a vampire is supposed to belike. You can take your imagination to the limit with paranormal romance. Youcan still have the hot, sizzling love story with great love scenes, but you canamp up the sizzle with a character that's full of mystery.
Whydo I write paranormal romance? It's really simple. Because it's so much fun!
LauralynnElliott is an author of paranormal and fantasy romance books publishedindependently in primarily electronic format. You will find everything fromvampires and ghosts to elves and wizards in her novels and novellas. She enjoysputting a little bit of a different twist on some of the old ideas about ourfavorite fictional characters. Lauralynn lives in the southeastern UnitedStates with her husband of "several" years. She enjoys reading,playing computer games, and spending time with friends.
J.R.says:
Here'show you can learn more about Lauralynn Elliott. Check out her blog, and her authorpage at Amazon.
Forone of those ghost stories Lauralynn mentioned, how about her book HauntedLake?
HauntedLake by Lauralynn ElliottAfterlosing her best friend in a fire, Rachel Madison rents a cabin on Misty Lake,trying to work through her guilt and sorrow. While there, she meets two men,one good looking and friendly and the other handsome, but scarred. Soon, sherealizes that the peace she was trying to find here wasn't to be, as supernaturalevents begin to take place. The strange encounters with ghosts at the lakecause Rachel to form a strong bond of friendship with the two men. The threefriends move closer and closer to danger as the events unfold to a possibletragic result.
Excerpt:
Danielwas looking at her intently, and she nervously picked up her tea cup and took asip of the hot liquid. Daniel smiled slightly and did the same.
"Youseem a little ill at ease, Rachel. I'm not making you nervous, am I?"
"Ofcourse not. Why should I be nervous?"
"Oh,I don't know," he said, putting down his cup and taking hers out of her handand putting it down as well. "Maybe because you're afraid I might kissyou?" Her heart fluttered as he laid his palm against her face and drew hertoward him. He lightly brushed his lips against hers, making her insides quiverwith both anxiety and excitement. It had been a very long time since she hadbeen in this kind of situation and she didn't know exactly what she wanted todo. Daniel's hands dropped to her waist and her hands twined around behind hisneck as his kiss deepened and his warm lips parted. She felt his tongue seekingentrance and she opened herself to his exploration. Their embrace tightened aspassion flared between them. But then, something strange happened. She suddenlyfelt as if she wasn't quite herself. It was almost as if she was someone elseand Daniel wasn't really Daniel. It was disorienting and she pulled away fromDaniel.
"Whatin the world just happened?" he asked in startled voice.
"Whatdo you mean?" asked Rachel, wondering if he had felt the same odd sensationthat she had.
"Idon't know. It was weird. One minute I was enjoying kissing the sexiest womanI've met in a long time; the next, I felt like someone was in there with me."
"Idon't understand," she said evasively.
"Hey,you felt it, too, didn't you?" he accused.
"Feltwhat?"
"Comeon, Rachel, I know you felt something strange happening. I can tell by the lookon your face that you know what I'm talking about."
"Well,I thought I felt something. But I figured I was imagining things."
Hestood up. "This is just getting too weird. First the talk about ghosts, nowthis feeling of…I don't know…possession. I think I need to go home now. Maybewhen I wake up in the morning, the world will be back to normal."
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