From The Quill: Why Paranormals So it’s no surprise to me that I love writing paranormal books. Part of it is the way a lot of paranormal mythology connects with deep seated cultural and societal ideas. We’re afraid of what is different even as it compels us. We want to know, even though we have to peek through our fingers, heart beating fast, stomach churning with fear and yet, excitement about the unknown. Vampires are the uber-villain—even as they’ve become the uber-sexy alpha hero. The teeth sliding over the skin is an ultimately intimate and dangerous act, especially in today’s climate. To give someone the very thing that keeps you alive is romantic as well as something that could also rob you of your existence. A vampire can be very strong and yet filled with anxiety over what he or she is. It’s fodder for the best kind of wounded hero, for the male who will move heaven and earth to protect his mate and of the woman (or man) who’ll give up their life for that love. How much more of an epic tale of love can you get? The challenge is in how to get the human and the vampire together. Or how to bring two vampires or supernatural creatures together and make it work. It’s a great twist on the general romance conflict trope. And werewolves, oh sigh. Werewolves are wonderful to write because they're about embracing touchstone ideas - the strong male, the mate bond, feral sexuality, etc. There are people who don't like the one true mate storyline (preferences folks, everyone's got em!) but I love it. I love the idea of *knowing* someone is meant for you. I also love the whole wildness, and uber-protectiveness of the alpha werewolf male (and female). I love that pushy, big guy arrogance and control freak attitude almost as much as I love writing the woman who will knock him down a few pegs. I love the foundational love of creation and nature the Fae represent. I can delve into Celtic or Slavic mythology and bring out the same basic stories about the shining folk. The Fae are about earth, they’re about nature and what I find the most fun is dealing with balancing responsibility of being so powerful with protection. Protection of love and family and protection of humans. And all these ideas give you great villains. Because in a real sense, the paranormal isn’t so supernatural at all. It’s part of our subconsciousness as human beings. So we’re scared because who hasn’t had some sort of experience they couldn’t explain, be it lights in the sky, something mysterious happening in a graveyard or at home, that sort of thing? Being scared by a story is nearly as delicious as being titillated by one so the combination of the two is like a lemon cupcake – perfection. Lauren Dane is the award winning author of over twenty novels. Her newest, Reading Between the Lines, a fantasy erotic romance, released from Samhain Publishing October 2. Readers can check in on what’s new at www.laurendane.com. From The Quill: Ghosts In Romance Well that backfired. Instead of receiving recommendations for some great ghostie bump-and-grind-in-the-night kinda stories, I found myself dared to jump into the fray. I certainly had no expertise on how to write a ghost for a hero. But does anyone, really? Determined to get published, I cracked my knuckles and away I went. Before I knew it, I had a story that swirled around twin brothers, ghosts, vampires, witches, curses, reincarnation, death, jealousy, hatred, love, and passion—all in one book! The book in question is HEARTS ETERNAL, the story of a cursed ghost finding the reincarnated soul of his one true love from centuries past. From my original dare, I’d written (and sold) a book I was proud of. Perhaps it wasn’t your conventional haunted mansion ghost story, but it worked for me. Now, however, my fans were not amused. In this age of series romance, where readers cannot get enough of a singleton book anymore, readers seem to be constantly looking for books that are connected to each other. I was asked over and over again if I was ever going to write a story for the twin of the hero in HEARTS ETERNAL—the villain, Jareth Moreland. Then it hit me. For whatever reason, the villain of this story resonated more so with my readers than my hero. I still have yet to decide if that’s a good thing or a bad thing… I’ll tell you right now I never intended for this story to be extended into a series. But with all these fans talking about Jareth (and there were many), I thought it was too good an opportunity to pass up. And so, a couple of summers later, I opened a new Word document and began a story for Jareth, a story of redemption, entitled HEARTS UNBOUND. I know a few people who are giddy this book is coming out on November 6th from Samhain Publishing. But I’ll tell you right now, it’s not a stand-alone book in a series you can pick up and follow happily along. It’s more of a continuation of the story, a point of view shift, if you will, from Laith in HEARTS ETERNAL, to Jareth, in HEARTS UNBOUND. This two-book series is more like one complete story rather than two (in my opinion, anyway), as everything comes full circle and no one is left out in the cold. Looking back now at that dare, I’ve got to smile. I might never have tried my hand at paranormal romance if someone hadn’t dared me to “write my own.” And not only that, I wouldn’t be at Samhain Publishing if it hadn’t been for HEARTS ETERNAL. The book was a castaway from another publisher that just happened to get snagged by an interested editor, and I didn’t even formally submit it. How’s that for serendipity? That one little book has driven my career forward more than even I could have imagined, and I guess I never thought about it until just now. With HEARTS ETERNAL available and HEARTS UNBOUND coming very soon, I can only sit back and hope the readers enjoy the stories I’ve written for Laith and Jareth as much as I enjoyed writing them. The entire saga began as a simple complaint, which just goes to show that you should never take anything you say for granted, and you should always be careful what you wish for. But in this case, I’m overjoyed that my wish for a ghost romance has come true—even if I had to write it myself. Rebecca Goings is the author of six books with Samhain Publishing, including two series, The Legends of Mynos, and Cursed Hearts. She lives in Portland, Oregon with her husband, four kids, a dog, a cat, and a lizard. Writing has been her dream ever since she was a child, and being published is literally her dream come true. To find out more about Rebecca, you can visit her website at http://www.rebeccagoings.com. What is the Challenge Process? People can walk into a local public library or school and, with a written letter, officially challenge a book resting on its shelves. While under review, all copies of the challenged book are pulled off the shelves, thereby restricting their use. Months or years can pass before a final verdict is delivered. The result may be an outright ban, meaning the book will not be available from that particular institution, or a reinstatement of the book, maybe with restrictions applied. A Few Examples Before you form an opinion on the genre of books being challenged, let me say that absolutely nothing is off-limits. Art Books, Biographies, Black Literature, Children’s Literature, Folk tales, Gay and Lesbian Literature, Nonfiction, Novels, Occult Books, Philosophical Treatise, Plays, Poetry, Political Works, Reference Books, Religious Titles, Sex Education Titles, Short Stories, Textbooks and Young Adult Literature are a few of the categories under which banned/challenged books fall. The reasons for challenging books vary widely. A few examples of a few extreme challenges on familiar books noted in the ALA Resource Guide include: J. D. Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye was removed by a Dorchester District 2 school board member in Summerville, South Carolina because it “is a filthy, filthy book.” Little Red Riding Hood by Jacob Grimm was banned by two California school districts because the illustration shows Little Red Riding Hood’s basket with a bottle of wine as well as fresh bread and butter. The wine could be seen as condoning the use of alcohol. A sixth grade teacher in Sparks, Nevada Elementary School objected to the Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary because it includes obscene words – they were returned to the classrooms. The romance genre has not gone by unscathed. To Love Again by Beatrice Small was challenged at the Pocatello, Idaho Public Library because a patron considered the romance novel “pornographic.” When it comes to challenges, thankfully all is not doom and gloom. One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Alexsandr Isayevich Solzhenitsyn was retained at the Storm Lake, Iowa High School, despite objections to the novel’s profanity. Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank was removed for two months from the Baker Middle School in Corpus Christi, Texas after two parents charged that the book was pornographic. The book was returned after students waged a letter-writing campaign to keep it, and a review committee recommended the book’s retention. Conclusion Censorship, the act of removing objectionable material from the public, is counter to an educated society. Removing books from the shelves at the request of one person or group, even temporarily, is an act of censorship that denies the rights of others, with varying opinions, to have access to the questioned material. Parents and children, husband and wife, siblings, friends, strangers may all read the same book and come to differing conclusions. It is impossible to please all readers at all times. The library is a place where people expect to make personal choices on what they read. The solution seems simple: if someone has objections to the content in a book, he/she can choose not to read it, and to leave it for the person to whom it does appeal. The ALA hosts Banned Books Week to make sure Americans do not take the liberty for granted - it just may be taken away without anyone realizing it…one book at a time. What can you do? Stay informed. Spread the word. Read a challenged/banned book.
Tilly Greene is a bestselling author of scorching hot erotic romances. Her latest book is ZANDIA. You can visit her website at http://www.tillygreene.com
And then there were the rumors. Beth Johnson had sent Kathie Wilkes a note about a werewolf stalking Ed Rowlands, the Phys Ed teacher. Goth-girl Myra Fowles supposedly had a thing for the ageless librarian, Mr. Tersch, whom she lovingly referred to as a blood-sucking vampire. And then there was the vanishing principal with whom she’d fallen in both instant and unexplainable love… The shrill ring of the bell announced the end of class, and Arisa stood to gather tests and smiles from her surprisingly well-mannered students as they departed for their lockers. She glanced at the clock. A quarter to three, the end of the day. Once the last student left, she sank back into her seat and pondered the bizarre job she’d wouldn’t trade for the world, mysteries and all. A posh teaching gig in the city had paid extremely well but left her unfulfilled. Wealthy parents doted embarrassingly on her young students, city-kids who likely knew more about stocks and mutual funds than she did, and less about sacrifice and what it meant to earn success. So the invitation to return to her now-deceased mother’s hometown, a guaranteed job waiting with a decent salary and rent-free home, had certainly piqued her interest. Arisa glanced out the window again, taken by the amber and red leaves floating through the cool wind onto the ground…where the one-thousand-pound statue should have been standing. Its disappearance and the black bark of the trees against the bleak gray sky made her think of horror movies, and the picture needed only a full moon and a bat to be complete. “Wonder if they have Dracula at the video store?” she murmured, tapping her low-heeled shoe against the floor. She watched as students flowed over the grounds like ants around a picnic, yet the familiar sight of learning, the smell of musty textbooks and chalk—Blood Manor had yet to convert to White Boards—gave her a sense of homecoming. Which was odd, considering she’d never lived in Wicker Abbey, merely visited. “How do you like the school so far?” A deep voice broke her from her musings and nearly made her fall out of her chair. Containing a gasp, she steadied herself before a large male hand covered her forearm. Whoa Nelly, libido overload. “Okay?” He let her go, his smooth palm gliding along the skin of her forearm leaving a wicked pleasure in its wake. Crap. There went her peace of mind. Principal Thomas Malevay was her worst nightmare. Handsome, sexy, mouthwatering…and totally, one hundred percent the consummate professional. Proper and distanced, yet friendly enough to have the staff calling him by his first name. If Thomas knew even half the thoughts she’d had of him since arriving in the school, she had no doubt she’d be banished from Blood Manor, and probably Wicker Abbey, for life. Hell, his family ran the town. His father was mayor, his mother the school board superintendent. Thomas ran the blasted high school. His sister owned the local diner, his brother was chief of police and his cousin the town vet. Despite the fact that the Malevays ran everything, they still acted like regular townsfolk. For such a small town, Wicker Abbey functioned like a well-oiled machine. Except for the rampant gossip that prevented even the smallest hope of privacy, Arisa found herself loving her new environment. And she had to thank the small mysteries keeping her mind occupied and away from her yummy boss. He was looking at her again with that intent expression, the one that said, “What do we have here?” “Arisa?” His voice was warm, like caramel syrup drizzled over soft vanilla ice cream. “Oh, um.” She worried her lip, concerned that she couldn’t stop thinking about licking some part of the man. And that was so not normal, at least not for her. “I love the place. Really, I do.” She took a deep breath, wondering. “But I’m curious about a few things.” He leaned a hip against her desk and crossed muscular arms over his broad chest. Dark brown eyes regarded her with interest, and she had to refrain from wiping the hank of black hair from his forehead to better see him, and to feel that silk through her aching fingertips. “The mascot is missing.” She pointed to the window. “He always is at this time of year.” Arisa blinked, thoroughly confused. “Ah, okay. And what about the elevator?” “What about it?” “If it’s broken, why are the teachers always in and out of it? And why are there buttons for five floors instead of three?” Thomas smiled, and as he studied her, his grin widened, showcasing bright white teeth between full red lips. Was it getting hotter in here or what? “Anything else?” She frowned. He didn’t seem to be taking her seriously, and he was beginning to annoy here, despite the way he made her heart race. “Yeah, as a matter of fact. The kids seem to think a werewolf’s after Ed, and that Tersch—what is his first name anyway?—is a vampire.” She mimicked his stance, crossing her arms over her unfortunately less than ample chest. To her discomfort, his gaze zeroed in on her movement, and he slowly licked his lips as his gaze darkened to black. “Your came highly recommended.” His voice had thickened, and he leaned closer as he continued. “Said you were the perfect woman for the job.” She wanted to melt at his feet, caught in the husky cadence of need. Instead, the practical idiot inside of her shook her head to break the spell, and she swallowed, audibly. “Who said? Who recommended me?” Confused, she could only watch as the scene unfolded in slow motion. He didn’t answer, and instead took her by the shoulders and forced her to stand. Then he backed her against the wall behind her desk and crowded her, his body pressing into hers with a firmness that belied his unhurried deliberation. Mr. Professional was touching her and liking it! His lips descended leisurely, his breath a guarantee of pleasure, before settling with command over her mouth. Seconds seemed like forever as something clicked within her, and a sudden door within her mind crashed open. Sights and sounds faded, everything but the taste of Thomas was obliterated as the man before her transformed into her other half, as if he’d been created just for her. Under his kiss, she tasted magic, passion, and a blossoming flower of affection which promised to lead to so much more. Thomas broke from her mouth, panting, and grinned down at her with so much feeling she was hard-pressed not to grab him and continue the kiss. “Damn. I’ve been waiting for you a long time.” “Huh?” Great comeback, Arisa. Enthrall the man with your non-existent wit. Thomas chuckled and hugged her to him, his body clearly telling her he was far from through with their familiarity. “I think you’re finally ready for what I have to show you.” His heart? His feelings? Oh God. His naked, ripped body? Questions burst like fireworks through her mind. “What? What are you going to show me?” “The teacher’s lounge.” She froze, thinking she’d heard wrong. He tugged her, and she stumbled after him, simultaneously disappointed, stunned, and surprisingly amused. Mr. Professional had kissed the breath out of her—one of his teachers—when he’d been known to go out of his way to discourage fraternization between teachers and staff. What did that mean? For that matter, why hadn’t he responded to any of her questions? And who the heck had recommended her for this job? They walked quickly down the corridor. Instead of the cramped space between French class and the library, Thomas took her to the end of the hallway, where the light faded and darkness obscured the gun-metal gray elevator doors. He touched his thumb to the sole button on the panel, and they stared at each other, waiting for the lift to return. “Why did you do that?” Arisa fingered her throbbing lips.
“Because I had to.” He stared hard at her mouth, and she saw
the convulsive movement of his neck as he swallowed. “I’ve been
waiting to do that forever.” Thomas stared at her, cocking his head as if to get a new perspective. “I’m going to answer your questions, Arisa, then I’m going to ask you an important question of my own.” She nodded, waiting, her breath shallow with anticipation. The elevator suddenly dinged and they stepped together into the small space. Thomas hit the button for the top floor, the fifth floor, and the elevator began moving. It stopped and they left, walking down a nondescript, bland yellow hallway that couldn’t possibly exist. A figure grumbled under its breath and approached, and Arisa froze as she realized it was the stone mascot, what looked a lot like an upright gargoyle, walking past them. “Don’t mind Harry.” Thomas pulled her with him into a grand yet cozy office. Arisa merely stared, not sure what to think or say. Thomas sat in a large, buttery-soft leather chair and pulled Arisa onto his lap. His lap. “Okay. Let’s keep this simple. Harry wakes every October. He’s actually a golem, despite what the kids say. A gargoyle is something entirely different. “Ed is being hunted by a werewolf--Julia Stims--who owns the floral shop. She’s courting, and Ed, being the undead, is naturally shy. “Tersch has no last name. It’s just Tersch. And he’s a vampire. But he’s strictly into vegan blood, and he never indulges on school grounds. “As to who recommended you, that would be your dead mother. She was a necromancer, like you’ll be in time. Which makes you the perfect candidate to teach Death 101, I’d think.” His eyes twinkled. Arisa stared at him. God help her, but he was serious. And to her bewilderment, she believed him. Even as she questioned her feelings, she couldn’t help asking, “And you? Who are you?” “The man who was born loving you.” He smiled gently at her stunned look. “Sometimes it’s easier to believe in werewolves, golems and druids—that’s what I am, by the way—than in something so intangible as love. Now answer my question, Arisa. As impossible as it seems, do you love me?” She studied him, the glints of humor in his eyes, the warmth in his skin, the curl of affection in his hard lips. “I shouldn’t believe you about any of this. I shouldn’t be surrounded by things that go bump in the night. There’s no way I should have the ability to talk to dead people.” She sighed as he nuzzled her neck, gooseflesh making its way over her body like electric fingers of need. Her heart settled on a quiet sigh of surrender. “And I definitely shouldn’t love you. But God knows, I do.” In a blink their clothes vanished, and Thomas kissed her full on the lips. “That’s the answer I was hoping for.” And together they made magic. |
