Squawk Radio
Friday, May 06, 2005
ELOISA on wolfs, neck bites and other hairy beasts
So farther down the blog I promised to report on industry gossip at RT. As far as I could tell, the fact that sales of paranormal books went up 35% pretty much explained everything, including the gi-normous lines that snaked in front of Laurell K. Hamilton and Sherrilyn Hunter.
One of my favorite series writers, Kathleen O'Reilly, summed up the scene fairly scathingly as "tortured heros without a soul in other life before he found his true soul-mate" (this was on Romancing the Blog). Sounded good to me. So I set out to read that exact book -- and found it! Karen Marie Moning's The Immortal Highlander. Guy has no soul, finds his true mate, oops she has a soul, but he gives up immortality to be with her. Now I know I sound a little jaundiced--but honestly, this is a great romance. The kind I used to love years ago, when heros had something to give up (in this case immortality, but I would settle for their freedom).
I think part of the success of paranormal has to do with a wild mix between truly creative world building (anyone else read Enchanted, Inc. about a woman who gets a job ferreting out wizards-gone-wrong in New York City?) and men who gain all the important things when they fall in love. Look at Christine Feehan: her Carpathians only see in color when they find their true mates. Well, my husband is away on business this weekend and his joyous voice on the phone a while ago indicated that he sees in color Just Fine while out of my sight.
So am I way off base? Anyone else read any paranormals that are hiding an old-fashioned women-come-first romance plot, rather than women-are-the-best plot, if that makes sense?
And just because I, for one, do not find plump Australians interesting:
One of my favorite series writers, Kathleen O'Reilly, summed up the scene fairly scathingly as "tortured heros without a soul in other life before he found his true soul-mate" (this was on Romancing the Blog). Sounded good to me. So I set out to read that exact book -- and found it! Karen Marie Moning's The Immortal Highlander. Guy has no soul, finds his true mate, oops she has a soul, but he gives up immortality to be with her. Now I know I sound a little jaundiced--but honestly, this is a great romance. The kind I used to love years ago, when heros had something to give up (in this case immortality, but I would settle for their freedom).
I think part of the success of paranormal has to do with a wild mix between truly creative world building (anyone else read Enchanted, Inc. about a woman who gets a job ferreting out wizards-gone-wrong in New York City?) and men who gain all the important things when they fall in love. Look at Christine Feehan: her Carpathians only see in color when they find their true mates. Well, my husband is away on business this weekend and his joyous voice on the phone a while ago indicated that he sees in color Just Fine while out of my sight.
So am I way off base? Anyone else read any paranormals that are hiding an old-fashioned women-come-first romance plot, rather than women-are-the-best plot, if that makes sense?
And just because I, for one, do not find plump Australians interesting:
Eloisa James, 10:02 PM
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