This just in: Tanya will be HERE! on September 7th! With a wonderful post about world building – you won’t want to miss it!

For me, as a fan of Michaels’ books, her story worlds come alive in the clever choice of details. For The Best Man in Texas, I’ll point to the drive from Katy to Houston. Odd choice? Maybe. (I’ve never claimed to be normal) This moment is certainly a ’small’ part of the scene and comes after many other wonderful layers of characterization and world building for the romance novel as a whole.

But with one simple line, she puts you in the scene with her characters, feeling the traffic, traveling the route, and completely engaged with the heroine on the way to the party. (no the scene isn’t about the car, traffic or route – it’s about the characters).

Michaels creates unique characters and detailed world building for her romance novels that is hard to describe, but a pure joy to read. Her transitions between setting and action are seamless, but add vivid depth and tenderness to her stories. This world building blend of emotion, humor, plot, and setting is something I believe has turned many readers to lifelong fans of her work.

Whenever I read Michaels’ books I feel as if I’ve visited the town, walked into that kitchen, or seen the fire station (The Best Man in Texas). That’s a fabulous way for readers to escape and engage with the characters and story.

Such successful world building for romance novels isn’t an easy skill, no matter how effortless Michaels makes it look. As I’ve said before, if you want to learn from the best, buy Tanya Michaels’ books and get yourself to wherever she’s speaking! (her next release is Texas Baby due September 14!)

Live the adventure!

…and mark your calendars for September 7th, when Tanya Michaels will be here!

Taking that initial place, time, or structure in which your characters will play and layering in the details to amp up the mood will only help you with the world building for a paranormal romance novel. As readers and writers of paranormal romance novels, we expect and enjoy those layers and details that make it more than the average escape reading.

I thought of this layering theme frequently while packing and unpacking as we moved the brilliant daughter back into her dorm room for her senior year. (yes having a high school senior is classed as paranormal activity in my opinion – I swear she was starting kindergarten just last week!) But I digress.

As we dumped boxes in a dorm with the most basic, bare furniture, it was merely the foundation, just a place to keep some stuff. She could make her bed, put her clothes in a drawer, and plug in her laptop and it would start to serve her needs, but it still wasn’t comfy or stylish. So we unpacked and layered a carpet, bedding and shams, closet organizers, bulletin boards and decor, extra lighting and finishing touches, and gradually it became her home away from home for the next school year.

My Shadows of Justice series is set in Chicago, in 2096. But the timing is just the foundation. The story is unwrapped, embellished and highlighted in the layers and details as the characters interact with both the elements of the future and each other.

Find Invasion of Justice in E.J. Steven’s Friday the 13th Monster Giveaway Prize Pack 2!

Don’t forget to register to win the latest Shadows of Justice novel, Veil of Justice, from Goodreads! (details on the right)

Of course you can buy the rest of my books in your preferred format at Amazon or Smashwords today!

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Most people wouldn’t label Nora Roberts specifically as a paranormal romance writer, but she frequently adds elements of the paranormal to her romance novels. She’s done specific trilogies with witches (Donovan family and Three Sisters Island) as well as vampires, but she also adds elements of fae to novels like Jewels of the Sun and ghosts frequently factor in her books.

Nora’s elements of paranormal romance novels run the gamut from intense and dark to lighter and only slightly less threatening (who really wants to mess with the prince of fae who’s been denied his true love for a few centuries?)

Kresley Cole and Sherrilyn Kenyon are paranormal romance writers who tend to focus on the more intense and darker, edgier elements of paranormal romance novels. But both authors cast light into those dark shadows with wit and humor and characters we love to go adventuring with through the myriad challenges they face.

Even Karen Hawkins, historical and contemporary author, weaves a paranormal element of magic into her romance novels, with a mystic ring, weather related ‘curses’ and such.

Paranormal romance novels can be light or dark, funny or intense, and yes, wild or mild. It all depends on where the paranormal romance writer puts the spotlight. The elements of paranormal romance novels that get spotlighted depends entirely on how the author wants to tell the story!

My Shadows of Justice novels are fast-paced adventures with both paranormal and romantic elements. Read them at killer prices on Kindle today!

Live the adventure!

Riordan’s latest young adult release, The Red Pyramid, The Kane Chronicles Book 1 came out in March, but I just got a chance to read it and I enjoyed the ride from the first word to the last!

Once again, Riordan superimposed a mythological network on the modern world (Egyptian this time) creating an unforgettable adventure that takes a brother and sister globetrotting through monuments and museums in an effort to save the world us mere mortals know and love.

It’s the unlikely combination of what is known with what must surely be impossible that brings the magic of this story to life on the page. If you’re looking to beef up your world building for a paranormal romance novel, reading Riordan is a fun way to learn the craft.

Riordan’s world building is perfected by in depth research and understanding of the Egyptian mythology he’s applied with such creativity the gods themselves (greater and lesser) can’t help but admire along with readers.

One of my favorite lines was the answer to why the secret Egyptian hideout in New York City was in Brooklyn rather than Manhattan: “Manhattan has other problems. Other gods. It’s best we stay separate.” Fans (like me) of the Percy Jackson series will laugh out loud in appreciation of Riordan’s voice, humor, and style.

I feel the Kane Chronicles are yet another hit for Riordan and I encourage readers of all ages to dive into the past and present of Egypt and the ever-so-obvious remnants of Egyptology that surround us.

Read the adventure!

No really!

Mod Nation (my son’s latest PS3 acquisition) and similar games can be a great exercise in world building fun. Order or chaos, high tide or low, even the position of the sun or moon, you’re in control of the universe as you build a racetrack. It’s really cool!

When crafting a paranormal romance novel, you also have the control.

You can make your world big and chaotic, you can lock in a tight follow spot on some detail of immense importance. However you build it, the world building for paranormal romance novels is all about how you want to play – or rather how your characters want to play in the world you create.

There are rules, in games and in world building.

In a game as silly and ‘simple’ as Hamster Ball, the creators were careful to make it make sense. You have three ‘ball’ choices for your hamster during the game: speed, bounce, and strength. Naturally the bounce ball looks like a soccer ball – which makes sense.  Even in hamster world, the world building rules matter.

Video game or paranormal romance novel, world building is world building. The more you practice, the better you get. So dream big, down to the smallest detail, make sure it makes sense, then let your characters have the time of their lives entertaining your readers.

Find several Shadows of Justice stories at Smashwords (free and half price) through July 31!  Additional outlets include Kindle and OmniLit.  Plus there’s still time to enter for one of two copies of Veil of Justice on the Goodreads Giveaways!

Live the adventure!

I’ve always subscribed to the theory that you should ‘do’ what you’re good at (and ‘do’ the things you enjoy being good at) This is a theory I grew up with, first presented by my father as: Do what you love and the money will follow.

Exception to the rule of this theory: I used to be pretty good at sleeping, but no one will pay me for that, unless you count the story ideas that occur to me during REM sleep.

Applying that theory to the elements of paranormal romance novels, I believe it’s vital for authors to deliver elements they’re good at – the elements they enjoy. If vampires aren’t your thing – don’t chase the market – just write the werewolves you love (if you love werewolves). I happen to enjoy writing the mental ’super power type’ elements of paranormal romance. (you can read excerpts and reviews)

One simple exercise to highlight the elements of paranormal romance you enjoy writing is to set a timer (ten minutes or so) and let yourself do a free-thought sort of scene. Try it again with a different element.

Keep going until you find the element of paranormal romance that absolutely captivates you as a writer. Not only can this spark some great story ideas, but if you really let yourself go, you’ll be able to apply that insight to your craft and enjoy your process even more.

Live the adventure!

Not only is it a unique and excellently crafted paranormal romance novel – it’s set in Chicago (well, part of the time) and Chicago is one of my favorite cities.

Read an excerpt of Assassins Honor here

Burns has found a fresh angle in the paranormal romance and her world building for this paranormal romance novel is top notch. Lead characters Emma and Ares have a contemporary place to play that’s fraught with powerful enemies with unique talents.

Three things that made Burn’s world building for this paranormal romance novel (and series) so effective:

Location, location, location: Using real locations, Burns doesn’t gloss over the realities of each one. She makes the Sicari lair on Wacker street in Chicago easy to imagine – the lair, the access and why the Sicari chose that spot.

This isn’t a place tourists or innocent bystanders would travel, and the criminal element works to the secretive advantage and purpose of the group.

The opener: Burns opens with Emma on an archaeology dig, uncovering an ancient symbol. Burns uses this symbol throughout the adventure as it’s significant to all the primary characters and their back stories.

Even though the locations change, the purpose of both Emma’s job and her discovery set a mood and tone within the world Burns built for this paranormal romance novel.

It isn’t an easy world. However Burns’ imagination works, I’m a grateful reader and fan! Her attention to detail in the world building for this paranormal romance novel makes for an impressively delightful and smooth read.

Ares’ Sicari world and honor system are so very different from what Emma has known and both hero and heroine have a wonderfully emotional journey that knits seamlessly with the adventure of their circumstances.

It’s never cliched, no pacing is lost, nothing is introduced that doesn’t have a purpose or solid foundation beneath it. In a word: Believable!

Thank you Monica Burns for successful world building for your paranormal romance novel series.

Live the adventure!

For excerpts, and details about how Assassin’s Honor came to be, visit Monica’s site now. Or better yet, go buy Assassin’s Honor in your fave format from your fave retailer so you’ll be ready for the next installment, Assassin’s Heart coming soon!

Often people (silly as they can be)  claim paranormal romance writers only end books one way or we’re too predictable with all the happy ever after stuff.

But I like the happy ever after stuff…

both as a reader of many romance sub-genres and as a paranormal romance writer. Through many a manuscript and critique partner experience I’ve learned a few things about crafting solid, surprising endings for your paranormal romance novel.

Here are 3 quick tips:

1. Keep the action on the page. Don’t pull punches or that ridiculous ‘it was all a dream’ nonsense. You’ve been building up to this, let the reader enjoy every punch to the gut – literal and emotional.

2. Readers love to worry, and  they read to experience the world of the character in paranormal romance novels. At the crucial moment, make sure your reader can feel the intensity along with the character.

The old rule of thumb is if you didn’t cry writing it, your reader won’t cry reading it. So pull that box of tissues closer to your keyboard and give your ending every emotion it needs.

3. Last, but never least, don’t leave your reader wondering ‘what’ or ‘why’. Whether you’re writing in a series or stand alone, resolve, resolve, resolve.

Loose ends will frustrate a reader faster than missing pages and as a paranormal romance writer your goal is to build that precious relationship with the reader.

So be sure if you introduced something that you’ve wrapped it up by The End. Even in a series, there should plenty of subplots to wrap in each paranormal romance novel to make it feel complete even as you move the overall conflict into the next book.

Live the adventure!

What was the best twist you never saw coming from your favorite paranormal romance writer?

So thanks for dropping by.

As a paranormal romance writer, I always hear about the pitfalls of  predictable happy endings. Happy endings are part of the definition of the paranormal romance novels – that ‘ah’ factor is part of the romantic escape for readers.

Happy endings don’t have to be predictable.

Just because a paranormal romance writer (and the readers who love them) crave a happy ending it doesn’t mean said ending must be predictable.

There are a billion different ways to tell a story, and a billion more variations when you throw in that ‘extra’ element of paranormal romance novel.

Think about it…

How does an immortal show a lifelong commitment? In which form will your shape shifter propose to his/her mate? What sorts of things matter most to your subculture of demigods?

All of those ‘what if’ factors mean paranormal romance writers can deliver -and their readers can appreciate – a paranormal romance novel with a tidy and twisted, happily ever after.

Live the adventure!

Are happy ever afters a requirement in your paranormal romance novel?

Paranormal romance writers tune in Wednesday for three quick tips on crafting that perfect happy ending!

Today, I’d have to say it’s the ability to dream big!

It takes a wild imagination and a big heart to deliver a paranormal romance novel readers crave. Paranormal romance writers know this, embrace it as their truth, and strive to make it an unforgettable experience for the reader.

For a paranormal romance writer, it isn’t enough to tell the story of a once in a lifetime adventure. The challenges facing the characters have to be bigger than the norm, with often deadlier consequences.

And it’s not just about an unlikely romance. A paranormal romance writer usually locks onto a character that’s bigger than life, more than human and twice as tortured.

Whether it’s alpha males or alpha females, or the ever-combustible combination, the paranormal romance writer is called to deliver a story that knits all these elements into a cohesive experience readers clamor for.

Paranormal romance novels are the ideal escape for readers – offering up excitement, adventure, and big, big dreams.

It’s no mystery that paranormal romance writers are in demand and it’s no secret that romance authors of every sub genre own the lion’s share of fiction readership. Big dreams, wild imagination, and the ability to get it all on paper is what makes a paranormal romance writer stand out.

So if you feel the need for a little something extra as a reader or a writer, give paranormal romance novels a try!

Live the adventure!