I’ve loved romance all my life. A story that focuses on two
people falling in love and living happily ever after—that’s what I want. Real
life is full of uncertainty, but romance novels are required to end happily.
They’re a port in the storm for me. An escape. Still, it wasn’t until I
discovered the paranormal genre—vampires in particular—that I was inspired to
write romance.
And why is that?
At first, I really had no idea. I just loved vampires so
much. When King of Darkness was released though, I was asked so many times I
had to give the matter some real thought. Turns out the fascination had always
been there. I can go back to childhood and Beauty and the Beast, and remember
how interesting it was that a monster could fall in love.
Fast forward a few years to The Lost Boys and Interview with
a Vampire. Because yeah, even undead, Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise were totally
hot. These were more like horror movies with a touch of romance, but it was the
gateway for me to seeing vampires in a sensual and romantic light. For what
would later become seeing vampires as heroes rather than villains.
I’ve talked to readers about some of the reasons they like
vampires: the fangs, the muscles, the primal alpha male-ness, and the fact that
they literally growl. I agree wholeheartedly with all of it. As a writer I also
like the extra challenges and dimensions you can add to your story with the
supernatural elements that vampires bring to the table. They need their love
interest’s blood to survive! They’re immortal, or nearly-so, depending on the
rules of your world (my vampires are alive rather than undead so they live for
a long time but not forever). Maybe they have super-strength. These days, your vampire can come in any
shape or size.
The possibilities are endless.
So what about you? Do you enjoy paranormal? Not everyone
does, and that’s okay too. If you do, what’s your favorite paranormal creature,
and why? Leave a comment to let me know, and you’ll be entered to win a signed
copy of King of Darkness.
About King of Darkness:
ETERNAL COMMITMENT IS
NOT ON HER AGENDA...
Scorned by the vampire community for her lack of power,
Isabel Anthony lives a carefree existence masquerading as human--although
drifting through the debauched human nightlife, she prefers the patrons' blood
to other indulgences. But when she meets the sexy, arrogant king of the
vampires, this party-girl's life turns dark and dangerous.
BUT TIME'S RUNNING
OUT FOR THE KING OF THE VAMPIRES...
Dead-set on finding the prophesied mate who will unlock his
fiery powers, Thad Morgan must find his queen before their race is destroyed.
Their enemies are gaining ground, and Thad needs his powers to unite his
subjects. But when his search leads him to the defiant Isabel, he wonders if
fate had gotten it seriously wrong...
King of Darkness is available NOW: Amazon : Barnes and Noble : IndieBound
Elisabeth Staab lives in Northern Virginia with her hero
and soul mate. She has been a telemarketer, a web page editor, a software
developer, a reader for the blind, a technical trainer, a coffee shop barista,
a tutor, a homemaker, a government project manager, a graphic designer, and a
professional ebayer. Finally, she's landed on being a writer - which is what
her high school guidance counselor originally suggested anyway.
Elisabeth believes that all kinds of safe, sane, and
consensual love should be celebrated--but she loves the fantasy-filled realm of
paranormal romance the best. Find out more at ElisabethStaab.com.
***Elisabeth's winner is Megan! Congratulations!! Please email totebag@authorsoundrelations.com with your full name and mailing address and we'll get the prize in the mail to you!!***
24 comments:
hi elizabeth...
of course iam enjoy with paranormal...and my fav : vampire (bones night huntress series by jeaniene frost) and dark hunter series(like a acheron, zarek dark huntress series by sherrylin kenyon) coz they are :
1. dark
2. sexy,
3. hottie
4. mysterious
5. care about the woman who loved ..
6. willing to sacrifice himself for the woman who loved
thanks for the giveaway ^^
I remember reading an article many years ago about how you can tell what a society doesn't like to deal with by the monsters popular in their media. The author noted that Dracula was a sexual monster and sex was something the Victorians tried to pretend doesn't exist and is bad.
That animus towards sex still exists in our society and so it's not surprising vampires are a big part of our media.
On top of that there is another facet of existence that we here in North America have problems with: death. Death really isn't a part of our lives any more. We have the same attitude towards it that the Victorians had towards sex.
Vampires, being immortal, rise above death. In this way they help us deal with it. That freedom from death makes vampires fascinating to us.
My own vampires I write simply to explore what it means to be ethical. The way I imagine them vampires have to do something evil just to exist. How do they deal with this? How do they prevent themselves from falling into the abyss? Can love save them from this? How do their lovers deal with this?
It makes for fascinating stories.
I love paranormal stories! I didn't like them at all until about 3 or 4 years ago. I discovered some really cool authors and it has been a love relationship since then. I like the Sookie Stackhouse stories, the Drakon' series by Shana Abe', Susan Blexrud Fang series, Susan Krinard's books, etc. There are so many excellent authors out there!
I have become a big fan of paranormal stories. I like vampires and chagelings but they're been done so much. Keeping all the vampire rules straight for each series is getting difficult.
I like demons a lot and I don't read about them very often. I like all the different Aliens in Gena Showalter's Alien Huntress series.
I got sucked into paranormal reads with Kelley Armstrong's Tales of the Otherworld series. I was hooked. About 85% of all my reads are paranormal.
Hi Elizabeth. Your book sounds great. Love the cover. I love paranormals. My favorite paranormal creatures are shapeshifters. You never know what is lurking below the surface. :)
I love reading paranormal romance and urban fantasy. Am fond of the different types of beings but am currently fascinated with dragon shifters.
Wow, I'm loving these answers! So intriguing, and so varied! And that's one of the really cool things about paranormal, the options in the genre are as many and varied as the people who read and write it. There's really something for everyone.
I love paranormal romances. Vampires and shifters are the main characters that I've read about. My favorite thing about this genre is how you instantly use your imagination and get into the story and let it take you into the book.
Well, I really love almost all paranormal. Most recently, I have been on an angel kick. You know, the ones that fight for good but are bad when it comes to their women. ;) Reading your post reminds me of movies when I was younger also. I LOVED the Lost Boys! I think that's what made me fall in love with Corey Haim. I also fondly remember Teen Wolf, Michael J Fox. I love the Worlds that the authors build as well as the characters. I love werewolves because they're loyal and HOT! Literally. I love vampires because I always see them as otherworldly. Thanks for the giveaway!
I love paranormal romance as well as urban fantasy (sometimes I can't tell the difference). I love all of the wonderful supernatural beings, the action, the fantastic worlds, and the kick ass heroes and heroines. My favorite paranormal creature is the vampire, I love that they're immortal, can heal quickly, haunt the night, have mental and physical power, and since they live so long, they have such knowledge.
Barbed1951 at aol dot com
I love vampires. They are the ultimate bad boy. Right now though I am enjoying shifters. debby236 at gmail dot com
i love paranormal romance!! my favs tend to be off sort shifters.. cats, dragons and the like.. i love some things that are not quite the norm
Wow, thanks for stopping by everybody! Some of you are really making me want to pick up more shifter books. I like the blend of Urban Fantasy as well, my books blend that--I love the idea of vampires living right under our noses without our knowing it. ;-)
I do enjoy paranormal books and vampires are my favorite creature. There is so much possibility in world-building and introducing me to non-human beings. Even better is seeing these para beings find love.
Cambonified{at}yahoo{dot}com
I like some paranormal. It's not my absolute favorite genre, but having said that I LOVE Angels.
If I may? If you like urban fantasy I recommend 'The Dresden Files' by Jim Butcher.
Great characters, wonderful world building, excellent writing. It has just about every major supernatural race in it. So far; four different types of werewolves, four different types of vampires, the Seelie and Unseelie Courts of the Fae, Knights of The Cross (one of whom is an agnostic), a Valkyrie, one of the Norse Gods and his helpers and these really scary things called The Denarians.
It's really great work.
I LOVE paranormal, it's my favorite. Love vampires, wolves and shapeshifters, makes it more exciting.
I love paranormal, especially combined with a good romance. I'm currently obsessed with Dragos, a dragon, from Thea Harrison's Elder Race series. Thanks for the giveaway! I've been wanting to read King of Darkness.
paranormal genre is my fave genre beside HR and YA and the creature i love are vampire, werewolf and dragon ;)
One of my Beta readers mentioned this, it's on my TBR list. Thank you!
I'm so glad there are so many paranormal fans out there! I appreciate all of you for checking out King of Darkness!
I love it. Fascinating! :)
Paranormals and I haven't yet become best
buddies! I've tried a couple but that's as
far as I've gone! I'm not giving up yet!
Pat C.
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