Today at the Speculative Salon, we're pleased to bring readers an interesting guest article by fantasy author Juli D. Revezzo about strange paranormal creatures that often inhabit spec fiction. Be sure to check out her new PNR release, Passion's Sacred Dance, currently free on Amazon until the end of Saturday.
Unusual paranormal
characters in Romance
by Juli D. Revezzo
Modern paranormal romance
caters to women who want to dream a little more than the average reader. They
crave the weird and just looking at the romance pages in Amazon or at the
shelves in a bookstore, you’ll see publishers are catering to that wishlist.
These days the main star of
the genre, though, seems to have gelled down to two factions: Vampires and
werewolves. As a reader of the genre, and as a lover of mythology, I’ve often
wondered why that is. After all, the world’s mythologies offer so many different
types of monsters (yes, I said the M word) to choose from.
For instance, in Medieval
mythology you’ll find Spring-heeled Jack.
In Scottish mythology
you’ll find the pooka and the selkie.
In Greek and Roman
mythology you have the shade (which is akin to the ghost), sirens, and the
harpies, not to mention gods, dryads, and fauns—the list is endless right in
that one mythology. And can’t you just see the *ahem* Erotic antics to be had
with a faun?!
(C.S. Lewis missed a great
opportunity to write a romance *eg*)
For me I chose focus on the
Celts of ancient Ireland and Gaul who battled the Romans in order to preserve
their homeland. (Alas, we won’t have time to cover here how that worked
out) Warriors, druids, sorcerers, maidens with mystic powers and secrets.
Though the mythological records can seem spotty, they carry within them the
very seed of romance itself.
(and, wow! Imagine being
taken away by an elf king… and a faun? Wait, I think I have a new idea for a
book.)
So, tell me, what unusual character might you want to read (or write) a love story about?
So, tell me, what unusual character might you want to read (or write) a love story about?
*~*~*
If
you’d like to see what I made of my take on the Celtic mythological beings, my
new paranormal romance, PASSION’S SACRED DANCE:
Battling mounting debt,
Stacy Macken is determined not to lose her historic art gallery. When Aaron
Fielding appears and offers to help, she fights to keep the attraction sizzling
between them from clouding her judgment. He may be her savior in disguise--but
can she trust him?
Aaron intrigues her with tales of the Tuatha dé Danann, sworn warriors who protect humanity from the monsters seeking their destruction. If Aaron can prove what he claims, she would give up anything to help--even the gallery he claims is sacred ground. But with her property set to stage the next epic battle, she needs answers. An old family diary will confirm the ancient legend is true, if only they can find it in time.
If the battle is lost, the enemy will take control of Earth for the next five hundred years. Stacy and Aaron's budding love might only complicate things.
Aaron intrigues her with tales of the Tuatha dé Danann, sworn warriors who protect humanity from the monsters seeking their destruction. If Aaron can prove what he claims, she would give up anything to help--even the gallery he claims is sacred ground. But with her property set to stage the next epic battle, she needs answers. An old family diary will confirm the ancient legend is true, if only they can find it in time.
If the battle is lost, the enemy will take control of Earth for the next five hundred years. Stacy and Aaron's budding love might only complicate things.
If you’d like to read more, Passion’s Sacred Dance
is free for Kindle from Amazon
this week, and coming soon to other venues. I hope you’ll check it out and
enjoy the magic!
About Juli D. Revezzo:
Juli
D. Revezzo has long been in love with writing, a love built by devouring
everything from the Arthurian legends, to the works of Michael Moorcock, and
the classics and has a soft spot for classic the “Goths” of the 19th century.
Her short fiction has been published in Dark Things II: Cat Crimes, The
Scribing Ibis, Eternal Haunted Summer, Twisted Dreams Magazine and Luna Station
Quarterly. She also has an article and book review or two out there. But her
heart lies in the storytelling. She is a member of Independent Authors Network
and Magic Appreciation Tour. Passion’s Sacred Dance is her first romance
novel.
You can find out more about Juli at her homepage: http://julidrevezzo.com/
Like her on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/JD-Revezzo/233193150037011
Follow her on Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/111476709039805267272/posts
On Good Reads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5782712.Juli_D_Revezzo
On Twitter: @julidrevezzo
4 comments:
So great to see you in the Salon again, Juli! I really love PNR and urban fantasy that use a lot of unusual creatures in them. I'm reading one right now with a character who is a naga from Hindu mythology (very cool). Your book looks wonderful - Celtic myth seems like a lot of fun :)
Cheers!
Hey, Ella, thank you. It's great to be back. I like unusual creatures too: That way, I get to learn something new with my reading. ;) Never a bad thing!
Thanks for your kind words. I hope you like it. ;)
Curious: What's the book you're currently reading?
I'm reading Charming by Elliott James. The MC is descended from a long line of monster hunters that were the basis for all the "Prince Charming" type fairy tale characters. There's also a valkyrie in the story, another one I haven't seen too often.
But the main plot is a vampire hunt, so it kind of falls back on an old stand-by. I'll give it credit that it tries to offer a unique spin on them, and they are squarely in the monster category (no smexy vamps here, LOL).
What I'd love to find is more modern fantasy based on Middle Eastern or African mythology too. There's so much that's yet to be explored there, and like you I love learning about new things when I read fiction.
Sounds neat!
I haven't read this myself but I've heard Neil Gaiman's Anansi Boys is based on African myth. At least if I recall correctly, Anasazi was an African (spider *shudder*) god in his novel American Gods.
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