Release Week – Scary Week

It’s release week! What does that mean, though? For me, release week is synonymous with the a queasy feeling in my stomach, both for good reasons and bad reasons.

Moon Promise, my latest offering, introduces a new type of hero. For once we have a woman who believes in her self-worth not for any superpowers she might have, but for who she is. Kensi can defend herself, but isn’t magically stronger than every man who wishes her harm. She has no real magical powers, and let’s not forget, for a werewolf who neither exhibits dominance nor shifts into her wolf shape, she navigates the power-driven world with skill and pizzazz.

Is Kensi perfect? Hardly. That lady has a huge chip on her shoulder, for one. Men have not left a favorite impression on her, and she uses this as an excuse to keep her distance. Worse, she uses her position as an alpha-to-be to set herself apart. No one is going to tell her how to behave. She must be on top—always (wink wink).

But I love how she tries to be a better person every day. She supports the underdog, defends her truth, and performs her job as private detective in a way that shows she cares about her clients.

That brings me to Drake, the other hero of the story. No, my paranormal romance does not treat both characters equally. This is Kensi’s story, but Drake’s change is no less drastic. Despite “only” being a pack protector, he’s every bit as dominant as his alpha. No wonder he flexes his alpha chops around Kensi—not always with the results he hopes for or expects. He’s got a good head on his shoulders, too, and is fiercely loyal.

Will Kensi ultimately give in to his charms? Duh, it’s a romance, right? But don’t be so sure of the outcome. Sure, there’s a HEA, but she’s not going to undergo a personality transplant.

You have to read for yourself if you want to see why they might not end up together, or why they might.

My butterflies remain. Is the world ready for a hero like Kensi? I hope so. I must believe that not all readers secretly yearn for a man who will take the reins when the going gets tough. The solid guy who steps in and magically takes away all her worries. A partnership of equals should in this day and age no longer be a unicum.

The other, more positive reason for my nerves is anticipation. Up to publication, my characters haunt only me and my editors, proofreaders and beta readers. The response to Moon Promise has been encouraging. I too am in love with the story and the characters. But once the book is out, my previously private new world expands as readers accept it into their hearts and minds.

At least I very much hope so. But why don’t I let you read it first?

Enjoy!

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Let Me Promise You the Moon

I’ve done it. I’ve released another full-length novel for your reading pleasure. What is it about? Will you like it?

I don’t know about the latter, but I can give you a summary of my new favorite book.

 

Private eye by day. Alpha by nature.

 

All her life, Kensi has dreamed of being an alpha werewolf. The trouble is, she can’t shift. And she’s tried everything: meditation, mind-expanding drugs, even squeezing real hard. Despite her lack of success, she’s not giving up. Her plan B? Offering her talents as a private eye to the Wild Pack. If she can locate their missing werewolf, they’re bound to support her claim to lead.

Dominant, stubborn and searing hot Drake is assigned to be her guide, and he’s just too damn good at his job. His hard chest bumps into her as he stalks her every move, while his mercury eyes watch her all the time, tearing down her defenses bit by bit. Maybe she got it wrong and being an alpha isn’t the only thing she wants.

But when the missing girl turns up dead, Drake’s story unravels. Putting her ambitions on the line, Kensi sets out to prove whether the man she loves is as innocent as she hopes—or as guilty as she fears.

Watch the trailer, if you’re not sold yet. Or buy it now, before the price goes up:

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HAPPILY EVER AFTER

The Difference Between Urban Fantasy And Paranormal Romance

Happily Ever After – the three words that separate Urban Fantasy from Paranormal Romance. The three words that define what a romance novel is, period.

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I don’t get it. I’m sorry, I don’t.

In addition to a Central Love Story, the Romance Writers of America stipulate that a true romance also needs:

An Emotionally Satisfying and Optimistic Ending: In a romance, the lovers who risk and struggle for each other and their relationship are rewarded with emotional justice and unconditional love.

Driving a book romance to an emotionally satisfying ending is something I strive for fervently. Yet my emotionally satisfying ending often doesn’t mesh with other people’s ideas. If the lead character in a book is not ready to commit to a relationship she knows will stifle her, and instead leaves town with the cool guy who charms the pants off her, how is that not emotionally satisfying?

Give it a couple of years, and she might change her mind. Until then, the pants-charmer treats her well, looks out for her, and makes her laugh. I find this uplifting and highly satisfying.

Romance plays an integral part in one of my books, yet I was assured it was not romance.

So why did two of my beta readers feel that way? Because “emotionally satisfying” means “happily ever after,” and my book did not represent that.

Initially I thought “HEA” was a flippant hyperbole. Alas, I was wrong. It was a concept that is to be interpreted literally.

Do readers prefer heroines to walk off with commitment-philes who want nothing more than to keep them safe? Perhaps. Because it sure seems to me that the “happy for now” concept simply isn’t enough. When the curtain falls, our couples need to walk off to their world of daffodils and moon beams.

Which begs the question. Is simply disagreeing with who is best suited for the heroine a strong enough reason to deny it the genre category “romance”?

Oh, and what is this obsession with a fairytale HEA anyway?

Psychologists have warned for years about the HEA and Prince Charming fallacies, insisting they set you and your relationships up for failure. Makes sense. Who can compete with the perfect man? Certainly no real man. Not the ones I know, in any event. In fact, if real men were perfect, they’d be quite dull.

I want conflict, in life and in fiction. I need conflict. The idea that conflicts between two people end with a final kiss frightens me. If the last few pages of a book don’t at least hint at more conflict to come, I no longer believe. Wasn’t this the argument made in The Matrix? To quote Agent Smith:

“Did you know that the first Matrix was designed to be a perfect human world? Where none suffered, where everyone would be happy. It was a disaster. No one would accept the program. […]I believe that, as a species, human beings define their reality through suffering and misery. The perfect world was a dream that your primitive cerebrum kept trying to wake up from.”

Back in the non-Hollywood world, the end of conflict would spell the end of the relationship. Making a HEA a paradox. The very thing that brings about the HEA destroys the HEA.

My dominant genre is Urban Fantasy. However, I have dabbled in Paranormal Romance before and am straying close to it again. When the book is done and read, who really cares what genre it was? But that’s not even the point. The question is, is HEA a viable genre-defining concept in the 21st century? Do you even agree that the RWA’s guidelines demand a HEA, or have they been misinterpreted? Please post your comments using the “Comments” link above. I really want to hear from you.

TOO MUCH URBAN FANTASY? TOO MUCH PARANORMAL ROMANCE?

Is Urban Fantasy turning you into an outcast?

Urban Fantasy under attack
Urban Fantasy under attack

Reading one old article from 2010 written by Damien Walter, writer and columnist for the Guardian, you might be forgiven for thinking so. Because in it, Urban Fantasy readers get quite the beat-down.

Walter writes, “I can believe that before television[…], many more people had a need for cheap books in copious supply that did no more than entertain. But there are now so many competing ways for people to invest their leisure time that the mass market paperback or even the e-book are surely struggling for market share?”

One commenter informed us with authority that Urban Fantasy is read only by emos and teenage girls. Another commenter said about UF readers, “It is quite hard to describe what they are like without being pointlessly mean since I too tend to drift in what I’m reading, and find such specialization unfathomable.”

I bet Walter’s quip about the e-book is one he regrets now, four years later. But let me ask this. What if I expect nothing more from books than to be entertained? Reading is something I do when I’m not watching TV, and I have no further ambitions than to be transported to a universe that is not filled with my kind of problems or world problems. In fact, I don’t need books to make me think. My mind is always on the go, figuring out how CSS works when my HTML knowledge is obsolete, or how to define “depth of field” and “depth of focus” eloquently and simply so that even people who are not versed in optics may understand the difference, or how to use my newest SEO plugin to best effect. Hell, now and again I need a time-out.

Let’s not forget most of UF comes serialized, and you’re not going to abandon the series halfway through, are you? And what about the authors? Authors tend to write in the same genre, and once I’ve come to enjoy an author’s voice, I’ll be back for more.

Which brings me neatly to the thing that puzzles me most. Why single out Urban Fantasy? What about those who only read crime or only historical romance?

I used to read four to five books a week, of which at least three were Urban Fantasy or Paranormal Romance. The “spare one” was usually a work of literary fiction and/or crime or sci-fi. If anything, there wasn’t enough Urban Fantasy around to keep me going.

Because I like what I like. Incidentally, I also like watching shows that might be classified as belonging to only three or four genres. I like Indian takeout more than Chinese. For books, it’s the same.

How about you? Do you flit from one to the other, or do you, too, have your fall-back genre?

My literary consumption has gone down because I got busier, but for those spare moments when I do whip out a book, I want it to be exciting, wonderful, alien and fun. Give me Mary Buckham, Darynda Jones or Kim Harrison, and I’ll be able to finally have some Me time.

Please don’t spoil it for me.