My Road to Paranormal is Paved with Historical Romance

I’ve been staring at my bookshelves a lot lately. Mostly because we moved and I need to reorganize the damn thing, but I’ve also spotted a trend I wasn’t aware of—one I find a little fascinating. In the heap where I have all the paperback “keepers,” you’d be hard-pressed to find anything but historical and paranormals. Is this some freaky accident?

I think not. I think it’s a winding, long road I’ve travelled in the past 15 years and it’s all served a purpsose.

Part One: He who rips bodices (and howls at the moon) must be obeyed!

My earliest memories of romance novels involve my grandmother, a camper, and some seriously swampy Florida heat. The covers from the late 80s and early 90s were unmistakeable—bliauts, chainmail, and windswept embraces. Truth be told, I was a bit embarrassed for Nanny’s sake that she was reading that stuff…out in public. Those were the days of the bodice ripping and the bosom heaving.

Fast forward a few years and I’m a bored teenager grounded for one thing or another. Usually it was a bad attitude, but it might have been one of my many curfew infractions—you just never knew with me. The books in my house, other than my school books, included my step-dad’s entire collection of Stephen King and a stack of romance novels beside my mom’s bed. I read Pet Cemetery and couldn’t sleep for two days that summer. I grabbed a pirate romance book of some sort and jumped on my bed to mope away the week. It flew by, thanks to ol’ Cap’n Whatshisname and Lady Nakey.

It wasn’t until after college that I picked up another historical, and that magic moment right there, when I was 25 and at a discount store looking for bargains, changed everything. It was Julie Garwood’s “The Secret” and I can honestly say, I have never looked back since that historical.
I have the entire collection of Lady Garwood’s historical works and they move when I move. They get boxed up first, lovinginly, while the fine china gets dumped into a gym bag during the 11th hour.

This is also where my road turns.

Part Two: Hoop Skirts Leads to Demon Hunting?

In these days where mashing Jane Austen with zombies is considered normal, making the jump to paranormals isn’t all that inconceivable. But about 10 years ago, paranormal romance wasn’t quite the “hotness” it is today. It was by sheer luck I found it.

I was out of Garwoods. I was out of Lindsays. I was angry and tried a Garlock or two, but just couldn’t find my place in the romance world. I missed my Highlanders, and when I saw the dark blue and black cover, complete with Celtic etchings, I thought Karen Marie Moning’s book “The Highlander’s Touch” would be right up my alley. And it was. I time travelled for the first time along with her character, Lisa. It was exhilarating. It was new, and ohmigosh, I loved it.

I bled that series dry in less than a month and was fiending for something new. Luckily, I found by random/fateful accident, a book about a Celtic darkhunter in Sherrilyn Kenyon’s series. Talk about eye-opening. I’ve never imagined a world where immortal bad boys tromp around New Orleans and save heroines from blonde vampy things. Bad boys who serve an impetuous Greek goddess and avoid sunlight themselves. Neat, huh?

Part Three: Your hero and my hero could be….distant cousins?

Ever noticed how a paranormal hero and a historical hero could be cut from the same cloth? These men have seen some s*&%.

They’re haunted by a past. They’re raw and animalistic, with a dangerous jagged edge that our heroines always seem to be on the wrong side of (at least during the first half of the book.)

Their alpha-ness cannot be ignored, and I think its no accident that they’re so similar—I think authors, whether they mean to or not, take that crusading knight and pit him into a new time, a new world, with different rules. Hell, they may even give him a new race, but he’s still the same chivalrous, honorable warrior out to set the world right. Usually.

Part Four: The holes in the fabric exposed.

So yes, I’m a connoisseur of historical, but I have a wide gaping chunk missing out of my experience. I have never read a Western historical. Is that terrible of me? I mean, I lived in Texas all my life, for crying out loud!! On top of that, I haven’t touched a paranormal in almost three months.

Consider this my cry for help. Can any of my romance writing brethren out there help a girl out and suggest some great Westerns I need to acquaint myself with? What about you lucky souls with paranormal releases coming up? Any worth tracking down? (I live in Alaska, for crying out loud, our bookstores are anemic!)

Happy reading/writing!

h.