Unusual paranormal characters in romance ~guest post by Juli D. Revezzo

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?

 *~*~*

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.

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/

Blog: http://julidrevezzo.com/blog

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

Shelfari: http://www.shelfari.com/authors/a1002694572/Juli-D-Revezzo/

On Twitter: @julidrevezzo

Are ghosts real? ~guest post by Juli D. Revezzo

We're happy to present a new speculative fiction author today, Juli D. Revezzo. She's here talking about whether or not ghosts are real. In her new book, The Artist's Inheritance, the main character must face that question in a very interesting set of experiences. Welcome, Juli!

 

Are ghosts real?

One of the questions that faces Caitlin, my main character in my new novel The Artist’s Inheritance, and its following stories is that of ghosts and where lie the lines between the worlds of the living, and the dead.

Had you asked me this question several years ago, I’d say I was a skeptic about such things. Though my brother loved Ghost Hunters and such television paranormal “reality” shows, I never bought it.

On the other hand….Has it had an influence on imagination? Definitely! Can you look at that flickering light bulb and not wonder? Have you not heard a voice occasionally say your name? Mom and Dad used to say that was God checking up on you… what if it’s a ghost?

Have you ever seen anything out of the corner of your eye only to turn your head and find nothing? What about that noise outside? Is it really the creak of a tree branch? Is it a good ghost, or one that needs its butt kicked? If the latter, Caitlin can probably help you out. I’ll ask… “Hey Cait?”

She’s busy now, I’ll have to leave your message for her.

At any rate, we know books and movies have been made of such things and it was to these that I turned when my ghost (excuse the pun) made his first appearance in The Artist’s Inheritance. I wanted a nice, sweet, helpful ghost, though. Casper comes to mind, but a little older and … well, to misquote Tevya, from Fiddler on the Roof: “For a man that’s been dead for 150 years, he looks very good.” J Yes, there can be some good ghosts, so I’ve read. And even when they’re not good, ghosts make for some interesting stories, don’t they? Have you read these pieces? They’ve all influenced The Artist Inheritance:

The classic ghost tales:

The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Coleridge

Cristobelle by Coleridge

The Turn of the Screw. By Henry James

The works of MR James

Leonore by Edgar Allan Poe

Hamlet by Shakespeare

And other such gothic tales

More recent texts:

Lucid by Debra Glass

Haunted by Debra Glass

Your Magic Touch by Kathy Carmichael

Cold Mountain, to some extent

The Brenda Strange Mysteries by Patty G. Henderson

The Witching Hour by Anne Rice

Movies:

The Ghost and Mrs. Muir

The Time of their Lives

Sixth Sense (though I warn you, if you are easily creeped out, avoid this one)

Fight Club

Fiddler on the Roof

And of course Ghost Hunters on the History Channel, if you have cable is a popular title.

You know, really, my jury’s still a little out. What do you think? Are the books, and the so-called “True life experiences” based on—for lack of a better word—reality, or just good for a story? Cait and I aren’t sure where we stand, but we know we don’t discount that shiver going down our collective backs!

Either way it makes for good fiction. Want to learn a little more about my Cait and her spirit-filled family?

Blurb:

Settling into their new home in Gulf Breeze, Florida, Caitlin finds strange changes coming over her husband Trevor. He seems obsessed with a beautiful chair he’s carving.

When the nightmares deepen and ghosts begin lurking—she knows something’s not right, and not just her newfound precognitive abilities. It’s the damned chair, she’s sure. Could it be just what it seems: a mundane piece of furniture? If so, why is it attracting dark forces—the forces she suspects drove Trevor’s siblings to insanity and suicide?

Before the same happens to Trevor, Caitlin must convince him to sell his art. But armed with only a handful of allies, and little experience of the supernatural, she must proceed with caution against the hellish forces besieging her family. If she succeeds, she will break the ancestral curse. If she fails, she may lose forever the one thing she cares about most: her beloved Trevor.

The Artist’s Inheritance is coming soon in paperback to Createspace; meanwhile, the Kindle book is available now at Amazon:

http://tinyurl.com/d2bb5la

and it’s also in various formats at Smashwords:

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/220457

Author Bio:

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, in love of which she received a Bachelor’s degree in literature from the University of South Florida. 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 the Romance Writers of America, the Tampa Area Romance Authors, and the special interest RWA chapter Fantasy, Futuristic and Paranormal. The Artist’s Inheritance is her first novel.

Juli D. Revezzo’s site links:

http://julidrevezzo.com

on twitter: http://twitter.com/juliannewrites

on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/JD-Revezzo/233193150037011

on google+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/111476709039805267272/posts

On Good reads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5782712.Juli_D_Revezzo

Thanks for having me here today!