I am often asked what drew me to write paranormal romance. Sometimes I am even asked by the uninitiated what paranormal romance is. To the latter, I typically answer that it’s Twilight without the fade to black (not entirely accurate, but it helps people understand). As to the former—as a kid, I loved fairy tales. Dragons, wizards, magical objects and enchantments tickled my imagination. As I grew older, the fairy tales evolved into fantasy novels with higher stakes, lengthier quests, and more mature themes. I love the escapism offered by these foreign, imaginary worlds.
Paranormal romance is an adult twist on my beloved fairy tales. The elements are the same; oftentimes you see magic, otherworldly creatures, quests, and imprisonments. But the genre also offers the exploration of feelings and satisfaction of a romance novel. You root for the main characters. You are pulled along as they fight to come to terms with their internal struggles and outward battles and finally achieve their happily ever after together.
I love and appreciate all the subgenres that Romance has to offer. I’ve loved reading about different time periods and have a weakness for books with hunky cowboys or swashbucklers on the cover. But for me, it’s the element of the fantastical, the foreign and magical, that sells me on paranormal. My books offer mythological creatures, other worlds, and plenty of sexy spice.
When I set out to write my Phoenix Warrior series, I chose a different mythological creature—the phoenix—as my inspiration because it was relatively uncharted territory. The Phoenix Warriors are hunky immortals guarding the human realm and I’m told my books have lead to some “inspired” time in readers’ bedrooms. Whether you are new to paranormal or have read dozens of authors, I hope you’ll give my sizzling series a try.
You can learn more about the Phoenix Warrior series at my website, www.karidaclarke.com, or at my Amazon author page, https://www.amazon.com/Karida-Clarke/e/B00INJ1T14.
I am grateful to Delilah for inviting me to share my thoughts and my books on her blog. I would love to hear from readers. Have you explored all the subgenres that Romance has to offer? What draws you to a particular subgenre?
About the Author: Karida Clarke is a romance writer with a penchant for anything otherworldly. If it has scales, fur, poisoned talons, throws fire or casts magic spells, it might find its way into her stories. Karida likes her heroines multifaceted and her males swoon-worthy, Alpha-style. She believes that relationships matter more than things and places. In her free time, Karida enjoys lacing up for long runs and cooking ethnic cuisine. Pet peeves include Saran Wrap and people who don’t put their shopping carts away. Karida has an M.A. in English Literature, is a former college English instructor, and currently writes for a small newspaper. She lives with her nerd-tastic husband and two spunky kids in Ohio.
Website: www.karidaclarke.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/karidaclarke
Twitter: www.twitter.com/karidaclarke
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7891344.Karida_Clarke
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Thank you for sharing. Yes I have looked in the subgenres of romance. I like almost all of them. My favorites are Erotica, Paranormal( love shifters and Vampires), Contemporary and some suspense. Historical not so much, read them when I started out, sorry to say I out grew them. Ménage is also good, I am still trying to decide if I like the M/M and F/F stuff have read some of each. As for babies and kids not so much lately the children seem to take over the story but I don’t not read a book because there is a child in the story. I give the story a chance. 🙂
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Hi Karida! 😆 So happy to see you hosted here by Delilah, ’cause you’re both AWESOME! ( I hosted Karida a while ago – http://www.snarkymomreads.com/?p=9824 )
Subgenres? I’m ALL about the grey areas of subgenres; I can never say that I definitively like, or don’t like, something in particular. I do try to check out everything at least twice. I think I’ve hit up about every romance subgenre – paranormal, BDSM, dark, LGBT, New Adult, MC, rocker, billionaire, etc… I personally have trouble with dark romances where things are forced or humiliation is employed (I DETEST bullies & just can’t get over it, even if the heroine can) and f/f just doesn’t do much for me, although I do find m/m interesting, from an educational perspective, of course 😉 . I dip my toes into historical every once in a while – like once every quarter – and I haven’t run across many paranormal things I don’t like. Not a fan of dystopian or zombie things (too depressing to think of the end of the world – I prefer to avoid that) but I’ve always liked paranormal for the new worlds.
And for those that haven’t had the pleasure of reading anything by Karida yet, TRUST ME – she crafts some AMAZINGLY DESCRIPTIVE AND FUN worlds for her characters to play in! Snarky Mom highly recommends 😀
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I enjoy the edgy, dark side of paranormal romance as well as the mythical aspects. There is always that part of one’s brain that likes to contemplate – hmm, maybe this could really happen.