Penyanyi : Guest - Erica Hayes
Judul lagu : Guest - Erica Hayes
Guest - Erica Hayes
Good morning! Author Erica Haynes has stopped by to give us her tips on building a paranormal series. Sounds interesting, huh? Enjoy!
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How to build your own paranormal romance series
Everyone loves a series, right?
No such thing as a standalone romance book these days. We're hip-deep in
sequels, prequels, spin-offs, books about sidekicks, ancestors and relatives of
the original characters. Some authors, like Lara Adrian with her Midnight Breed
books, are even rebooting their series like a Marvel comic and starting all
over again.
So here are a few must-haves to
build your very own paranormal romance series. We've all got our favorite
series tropes – what are yours?
1. A posse of hot supernatural guys
Almost every series has one of
these. Whether it's the original brotherhood of badass vamps (thank you, J.R.
Ward), a gang of urbane Russian mobster were-snakes (I would totally read that)
or a Viking vampire angel Navy SEAL team (have you seen that series by Sandra
Hill? You have to check it out!) – your heroes have to come from somewhere, and
what better place to find sexy supernatural dudes in need of romance than a
ready-made posse of warriors on a mission?
In my Seven Signs series, the
hot dudes are a gang of fallen angel warriors (all angels are warriors, right?
What else are they for?) called the Tainted Host, who walk the earth doing
heaven's dirty jobs. They slay demons. They party hard, mostly to avoid the
issue, which is that they're one step away from hell. Yeah, they're one big
seething mass of denial with hot feathery wings and flaming swords. And they
fall in love at the worst possible time – the end of the world.
2. A gang of awesome ladies to
match
Sometimes – not often, sadly,
because it's really cool – it's the heroines in the series who make up the
warrior posse. A sisterhood of witches and weres, like Yasmine Galenorn's
D'Artigo sisters, or the demon-slaying vamps in my short story Hunter's Blood.
They're kicking butt and taking names, and they find their heroes along the
way.
But even if your ladies don't
know each other, they'll be tough, resourceful women who know how to get the
job done. They don't need a man – but if one comes along, they won't say no. So
long as he's a smart, sexy, dangerous dude who's hot enough to handle her.
3. A Big Bad
You've got your characters
sorted. Now you need something for them to do. No point in a story world
without conflict – who would your posse of hot supes fight? Supervillains,
rival wolf packs, well-meaning humans bent on destruction, invading aliens or
the devil himself. Set your characters up with a suitably nefarious foe –
preferably with numerous vile henchmen and the obligatory
unhinged-yet-dangerously-sexy sidekick – and you'll never run out of stories to
tell.
In my current series, it's
demons all the way, unhinged sidekicks my specialty. There's a particularly
gruesome fellow called Zuul, a pain demon who gets his energy from agony and
loves to be tormented. Also another fun trope: the Good Guy Who's Actually Bad.
I'll leave you to find out who that is, bwahaha…
4. Cool weapons
No self-respecting supernatural
posse warrior packs an ordinary sidearm. Not on your life. The monsters they're
fighting can't be killed by ordinary weapons, and besides, we need something
super-cool to put on the cover! Swords, throwing knives, martial arts staves,
the Magical Fire-Spitting Elbow of Doom. Give 'em whatever you like, so long as
it's not boring.
5. Weird supernatural sex
Repeat after me: vanilla sex
will not do. Whether it's a mild kink – dudes with feathers, oyy – or full-on
wild monster shagging, werewolf-style, you'll need that touch of magic to spice
up your love scenes, even if they're not explicit. And this is over and above
your ordinary romance hero's ridiculously good performance in bed. Hot
supernaturals absolutely must scorch it up with strangeness between the sheets
somehow. Or what's the point?
So there you have it: some of my
paranormal series must-haves.
If you're into fallen angels –
and hey, who isn't? – do check out my apocalyptic Seven Signs series. Book 2,
REDEMPTION, is new this month.
Japheth the Tainted is on the
hunt for a mysterious demon vampire. But meeting her face-to-face might disarm
his warrior spirit—and spark an unquenchable passion with apocalyptic
consequences.
As a fallen angel, Japheth is
determined to make his way back to heaven by staying pure and slaying
hellspawn. With a new scourge of vampires unleashed by a blood-drinking demon,
the Prince of Thirst, there’s plenty to be done. But Japheth is after one
vampire in particular—the one they call the Angel Slayer.
Rose Harley never wanted to be a
vampire, but the Prince of Thirst can turn even the kindest soul into a soldier
of hell. Feeling abandoned by God, she stalks the West Village taking revenge
on his angels—until she meets her match.
When Japheth and Rose encounter
each other, the battle is fierce and charged with desire. But when they
discover a common enemy—the Prince of Thirst himself—they form a dangerous
alliance that could either cost them their eternal lives, or spark a love more
powerful than heaven or hell.
And do come find me on the web!
I'd love to chat with you.
Twitter:
http://www.twitter.com/ericahayes
Website:
http://www.ericahayes.net
So what are some of your
favorite paranormal series tropes? Can't get enough of vampire brotherhoods and
werewolf packs, or are you looking for something new? Do you like kick-butt
supernatural heroines who meet their match, or are you a fan of human heroines
who tame their sexy monster hero?
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-- Lynda Again,
Love the tips! And love the line under #5 'Or what's the point?' ;-) I'm eager to see how you answer her questions, ie vamps or weres or something new?
Have a Blessed Day!
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-- Lynda Again,
Love the tips! And love the line under #5 'Or what's the point?' ;-) I'm eager to see how you answer her questions, ie vamps or weres or something new?
Have a Blessed Day!
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5 Responses to "Guest - Erica Hayes"
Mmmm.... I really, really like Tip #1-Have your own posse of hot, supernatural guys. The other tips are pretty cool too but, hey, HOT SUPERNATURAL GUYS RULE!
Thanks for being with us, Erica!
Great post! Love the Tainted Ones, too cool!
I confess my favorite trope is the bad guy who is secretly good.
Off to go check out your books on Amazon!:-)
Erica,
Hot supernatural heroes sound good to me too! Excellent tips. Paranormal romance does combine well with erotic elements!
Jacqueline Seewald
TEA LEAVES AND TAROT CARDS--paranormal sensual Regency romance now in all ebook formats
{waves} hi everyone! Thanks for having me here today. And yes, so long as we've got a posse of hot supernatural guys, what more could we ask for?
Love how you simplified your list of must-haves. I jotted them down. :)
-Kara
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