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We are writers mainly from Australia and New Zealand who write speculative fiction with romantic elements. Be it fantasy, paranormal, dark urban fantasy, futuristic and everything in between.

Sunday 28 April 2013

Belated Magic Thursday: Lovers vs Fighters

by C.T. Green




As this Magic Thursday Post is on Anzac Day I thought I’d write about supernatural soldiers and why paranormal romance is full of these fearsome heroes.

Black Dagger Brotherhood, Immortals After Dark, Lords of the Underworld – yep, these are some of my favourites series, but what I realised when I was writing this post was they all have heroes who are soldiers in one form or another. Surely this couldn’t be true? There must be a vampire accountant somewhere…an angelic chef…okay what about a werewolf florist? But the more I looked the less likely it seemed that this guy would be delivering flowers…sadly.




As I investigated other paranormal series, there was a singular lack of CEO’s, farmers or anaesthetists, but there were more soldiers than you could poke a stick at. (Not that you’d risk getting your arm taken off).  So…ah…why do we love the fighters over the lovers?  What’s so good about a bad-ass vampire solider with a pair of black blades when held up against a vampire who’s invested in veterinary science and just loves kittens?


Yes, the answer does seem rather obvious doesn’t it? The vampire soldier who’ll die to protect his race and his woman is just extremely sexy and swoon-worthy romantic. We want our paranormal men to embody all the things we see as strengths: physical prowess, protectiveness, ruthlessness, ferocity and loyalty. Even when they prefer other guys (as witness to the success of JR Ward’s extremely aptly titled Lover at Last) we find these warriors fascinating, sexy and dangerously irresistible.  These guys are so attractive to us not just because they’re stone-cold killers, they are also capable of tenderness and love – they’re lovers and fighters.


I’ve picked on vampires specifically because I’d like to leave you with this thought. Bram Stoker’s Dracula was a fighter who’d sacrificed his belief in God to make a pact with the Devil because he lost the love of his life…

Is it this which is a subconscious driving force behind the soldiers of paranormal romance or just a coincidence? 
Do we need our supernatural heroes to be males who live on the edge of violence because it’s that much closer to love?


5 comments:

  1. Deep thoughts, C.T. Maybe it's the selfless act of valuing someone above themselves (the heroine, their race) that attests to their worthiness to love. And who doesn't want to redeem an emotionally scared warrior, offer him love that will not only save him, but see him reach his full potential and, indeed, happiness.

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  2. You’ve matched the deep thoughts and gone one better! Fantastic response and one I’ll be mulling over as I write my next warrior story. : )

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  3. Oh, too deep for me ;0) I think we like visualising the buff bods ;0) Seriously, I think it is the whole conflict thing as well. In paranormal romance, the baddies seem so much badder and you need someone who can push back.

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  4. Yes a hard body is good to find...was that Mae West? I also like the action in paranormal romance and you’re right Eleni, the baddies are that much worse!

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  5. Love that final line. I think you might be right on the money!

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