It’s lovely to be back amongst the Darksiders. Thank
you for having us, once again.
Reality and the paranormal—some would say the two just
don’t mix, and they’d be a little bit right, and a lot not-so-right. We have read
a lot of definitions of paranormal fiction, but the best one we found was on
the teachmetonight blogspot where Sarah S.G. Frantz explains that “the primary
theme of all paranormal novels is the
interaction between the “normal” of our word and the paranormal” (2007, Sarah
S.G. Frantz, Definition of Paranormal Romance).
So how do we incorporate patches of reality into our
paranormal romances? What do we draw on? And how much do we need to incorporate
for a story to be included in the genre?
We’ll answer the last question first.
How
much paranormal needs to be incorporated in a story for it to be counted as
paranormal?
Technically, not a lot. In reality, readers tend to
like more.
Eleanor: In Hunters ofthe Nile, the only paranormal event is at the beginning when the main character
falls through a hole in time while trying to escape a hunt in which she was the
prey. That one time-travel event helps her enter the main setting of the novel,
and without it, I would not have been able to incorporate a modern-day
character into an ancient Egyptian setting. Beyond that, Callista has to use
normal means to adapt to the world she finds herself in. I’m not sure I’d count
Hunters as a true paranormal romance;
it’s safer to call it erotic time-travel romance, which is one of the
sub-genres.
But in my other book, A Gargoyle for the Hotel Gothica, I use mythical creatures and
magic and incorporate them into the real world. I believe Ellie does much the
same.
Ellie: Yes, I tend to use a lot of paranormal elements in Pussy Cat, Pussy Cat. Like Eleanor I
draw on ancient Egypt and time travel, but I also bring in shapeshifters, sex
magic, summoned monsters and an evil magician. It’s a lot in contrast with Hunters. And, I guess that brings us to
the second question.
What
do we draw on when writing paranormal romance?
Eleanor:
Ellie, why don’t
you talk a bit about what’s in Pussy Cat?
Ellie: Sure. So, for PussyCat, Pussy Cat I drew on four main paranormal things: ancient Egypt,
shapeshifter lore, time travel and the idea of magic being real. I’ve always
been fascinated by ancient Egypt, how people lived, what they ate, what they
believed in—yeah, I guess, especially what they believed in—their legends and
such. It was just a really interesting time period. I had to do a lot of
research, everything from what they ate, how their houses looked, what deities
they worshipped and what their marriage customs were, and somehow I had to
bring a little bit of that to the story. That’s where the time-travel came in.
I wanted my main male lead to be a shemsu (a group of men who advised and
protected pharaoh) and I expanded the role a little so that he travelled to our
reality in pursuit of a threat to pharaoh. I also had my main female lead
travel back to ancient Egypt and encounter some of the beliefs and social rules
of that time. The other thing I did, was do a little tweaking of that time, so
that it’s not entirely accurate, and I explained it by making it a time set
even before our recorded histories, when magic still existed in our world. But
you managed to incorporate a modern character into a more historically accurate
ancient Egypt, didn’t you, Eleanor, in Huntersof the Nile?
Eleanor: I did, and like you, it involved a lot of reading,
and some net surfing. There are some excellent sites out there… and some not so
excellent ones, too.
Ellie: True. Why don’t you tell us about a few of the
elements you used in Gargoyle?
Eleanor: Okay, but A Gargoyle for Hotel Gothica was my first real foray into this genre, and I
had the help of a theme: Creatures of the Night, and I think the story had to
incorporate some element of Scotland. I can’t recall exactly. It was a few
years ago. Anyway, I remember wanting to write about something NOT werewolf and
NOT vampire, because I thought those two were the most common creatures of the
night and I wanted to do something different. I decided on gargoyles because of
all the old buildings in Scotland, and then I wanted to use a real-world
setting I was a lot more familiar with, so I brought the gargoyles to Tasmania,
which is where I was living at the time. There aren’t a lot of legends about
gargoyles, so I used the theme of making them creatures of the night to make
them only come alive at night. It’s a common theme for stories with children’s
toys and such, and seemed to work here.
Ellie: And the elves?
Eleanor:
Yes, the elves.
Well, the fae are a strong presence in Scottish legends and tales, so I thought
I would use some of that folklore to bring elves, or fae, into my world. Like
the reality I use, I twisted them a little, but not too much. The fae in
Scottish legends are not the nicest of creatures, so the fae in Gargoyle aren’t,
either, but they are beautiful.
Ellie: So I guess that leads us back to the first question:
How do we incorporate patches of reality into our
paranormal romances?
Eleanor: I think Pussy Cat, Pussy Cat has more paranormal in
it than either Gargoyle or Hunters. How did you incorporate it?
Ellie: I think the most important thing when writing this
genre is to be absolutely sure of your realities. For instance, the first
murder is located near the Esplanade where the Salamanca Markets are held. I
used my knowledge of the restaurants along there, and the fact that there is a
small park as a basis for the real location, and then I tweaked that location
just a little bit to suit the story by adding a few more bushes. It’s true that
people can go to restaurants along there, and very true that there are some
excellent restaurants located near the water, so it is perfectly believable
that a couple would be dating in the area.
Eleanor: And the seagulls?
Ellie: The seagulls are real, too.
Eleanor: They really will eat—
Ellie: Uh, yup… let’s not go there.
Eleanor: But the magic is not real.
Ellie: No, the magic isn’t real. And I wanted it to be a new
thing for our characters, so that they’re just learning how magic works, and so
are the readers. I made a lot of my own magic rules up, but I’m sure there are
other authors who have come up with similar ideas. The trick with making up
your own lore is consistency. I decided that magic could only be seen by people
with the genetic make-up to do so. I gave magic from different sources,
different colours and flavours—something for the detectives to recognise and
detect. I decided that spells from a specific person had specific traits that
could be recognized in addition to the usual colours of that kind of magic.
These traits don’t vary, so I had to make sure they didn’t vary in the story.
Eleanor: And the shapeshifters?
Ellie: Yeah, well, I wanted my characters to have something
extra to worry about. Being shapeshifters brings its own difficulties in a
world where shifters are usually encountered as threats. The characters have to
be careful with this aspect of themselves as they don’t know how society will
react, and are worried about losing their jobs, amongst other things. I had to
remember to think of the impact that magic and the appearance of shapeshifters
would have on society. What mechanisms would be needed to provide rules on how
shapeshifters would be treated? What rules would be applied to them? Because
the characters don’t know these things, and society is new to magic, there’s a
reasonable amount of uncertainty and caution.
Eleanor: I guess this would be especially so, after the change
of rules to do with journalism and reporting magical incidents.
Ellie: Oh, especially so. I mean, reporters are now forcibly
‘quarantined’ until an incident they photographed, witnessed and tried to
report has been investigated and the authorities have decided if it can be
reported and how much.
Eleanor:
‘Bag him and gag
him’.
Ellie:
Exactly. Now
imagine how a shapeshifter with the abilities Kitty, Charles and Sera have,
might be treated.
Eleanor: I guess there’s good reason for them to be cautious.
Ellie: Yes.
Eleanor: And that brings us to the end. Before we go, we’ll
sum up some of the ‘rules’ or guidelines to incorporating paranormal elements
into your realities, or reality into your paranormal.
- Do your homework: if you’re going to incorporate a real location or known historical facts into your story, make sure you get them right. If you want to incorporate a mythical creature, make sure you know the myths and legends and reflect them.
- Don’t be afraid to tweak: Nothing has to be one hundred per cent accurate. For instance, locations change. You might want to acknowledge how it is, by noting in your story how it ‘used’ to be, and then doing your alterations, or your changes might be so minor no explanation is required. You might want your creature to be a little different to the stories. You can throw a metaphorical nod to the stories by highlighting the differences, or putting in a pseudo-scientific explanation, or pointing out that storytellers don’t know everything. But, however you handle it, remember you can tweak a real location or setting and you can change “known” facts about a monster if you incorporate it in a believable or logical fashion.
- Write like your paranormal is everyday known fact. Sometimes paranormal elements are well enough known in the world that the characters don’t consider it different or strange, and you should remember to incorporate it as though it’s a normality if you are writing from their point of view. For example, a character might lose another housepet to a wendigo, and think something like: Goddamn wendigos. When was I going to remember I had to get the cat in before dusk? I mean, how many more did I have to lose?
- Know the rules of your world. Think about how things fit together. What are the characteristics of magic, elves, trolls, shapeshifters? What effect to do they have on the world around them? What mechanisms does society have in place for controlling, interacting with and looking after them?
- Be consistent. When you give specific characteristics to a paranormal element in your world, don’t go changing it, without having a very good reason for doing so. Consistency is what will make your world believable.
Happy writing all :-)
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Eleanor
Maine is another Canberra writer. She enjoys telling stories of paranormal and
urban romance, including work once published under the pen name Ellie Moonwater
('Hunters of the Nile' and 'A Gargoyle for Hotel Gothica'). Her favorite
technique is to take things that aren’t quite real, and wrapping them in the
trappings of the world we know. Time travel, werewolves, magic and vampires all
form part of her favorite subjects, as well as history and places she can visit
and then shade with paranormal color.
As Ellie Moonwater, she loves writing erotic tales of paranormal and fantasy romance set on faraway
worlds or in faraway lands. Sometimes she wanders into the realms of erotica, and
sometimes she explores ideas that make some people uncomfortable, but her characters are her love, and their wish is her command.
You can find Ellie Moonwater at:
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