Monday, June 22, 2009

The Paranormal Romance & the Normal Writer!



Welcome Kari,
With five books out with different publishers, my guest Kari Thomas is an expert on what's happening in paranormal romance. She's also an experienced reviewer and editor. First Kari, is it true you're descended from Scottish psychics? And how does that affect your writing?
(I promised not to ask about kilts.)
Lets just say ....it can be very beneficial when you meet a sexy werewolf. I dont have to WONDER about what he's thinking! LOL!

Can a normal person write paranormal?
NOPE. You have to be completely insane. Why else would someone even ATTEMPT to write a paranormal without a bit of craziness in their thoughts? Hey! That just labeled me, didn't it?
Kari, have you always lived on the paranormal side?
If I answered that, I'd be in soooooooo much trouble!

How does writing about shapeshifters affect your day to day life?

I can't look at a dog or cat or any other animal without wondering: Shifter or normal? That's bad. Especially embarrassing when you catch yourself asking a pet owner : "So, does FiFi shift only at night, or does he do the day too?"

Paranoral romance has been so popular for so long? Do you think the end is in sight?
Say it isn't so! Can you imagine being an author who writes mainly in the Paranormal Romance Genre and one day reading that it's going the way of all "fads"? Well! I'm not going down without a fight! I'll fight to the end! I'll take no prisoners! I'll win the battle AND the war!
Oh. Wait a minute. I got carried away there. It's not that drastic. Yet. Ages ago when the Paranormal Romance popped up, publishers were a bit hesitant and skeptical. But readers quickly showed them there was a great yearning for this genre and a new age was issued in. It happened quick and became so popular there were suddenly thousands of books out there with this theme. Heroes were turning dark and wild. Readers no longer heard the word "Vampire" and went "Eeewwww!" Now, it's "Oh sigh, he can bite me anytime!" And don't get me started on those sexy Shapeshifters! Hairy or not, those heroes are definitely to "sigh/die" for!

Do you think there are too many Paranormal Romances on the Market?

Hey! Too many? Are you kidding? Tell that to a dedicated Book-a-holic and you'll get a fight.
Maybe, just maybe, there are a lot. But each book is unique, has its own special characters, and holds its own, in the Romance industry, against the other books. Publishers may complain they're getting too many Paranormal Romance submissions lately, but readers are still yelling: "Give me more!" There may come a time when those same readers are going to have to stand up and fight anyway (Hey, I'm so there!) but until then, we'll keep writing those sexy paranormal romances and they'll keep reading them. Gotta love that!

So, besides reading, tell me about your own paranormals and any Snoopy dancing moments.

HUNTED MATE won the Best Erotica 2008 Golden Rose Awards! That was a Snoopy Dance moment, to say the least, because there was a lot of great competition! It's released by Black Lyon and has a book video on YouTube. The hero is a Cat Shifter, and the model on the cover, Sean, is so perfect for Logan!

TEMPTATION UNLEASHED
was a
Best seller in 2007 and still does great. Of course, its a Paranormal Romance, and the hero is another Cat Shifter, with the heroine as a Witch. With A Samhain book, it's now in both Print and Ebook and still receives a lot of great Reviews.

SEDUCING THE HERO is a contemporary with "a touch of magic" that adds humor as well as magic and LOTS of passion. It's Novella length, (approx 24,00 words) but is ALSO available in Print format at Amazon.com ; It's with www.eternalpress.ca and the Snoopy Dance moment there definitely was hearing that such a short book would be available in Print! Yay to Eternal Press & Amazon!

HER HEART, HIS SOUL (Book Strand) is a darker paranormal romance with Angel-Demons. I was so worried that because it was a bit different from the normal paranormal romance out there right now, that it wouldn't spark enough attention. BUT! I've received so many FANTASTIC Reviews! It comes out in Print in late August 2009 but is available in Ebook.
My latest is PREY FOR THE WOLF and will be out with Eternal Press in late October 2009. It's another Novella length and so will ALSO be available in Print as well as Ebook. The hero is a Wolf Shifter ---and one of the sexiest I've wrote to date! I will have the cover up on my website as soon as it's available.

All my books are available in Ebook and Print, which I'm so proud of! For more, about my current books check out my website


Anything new coming along you can tell us about?
Hmmm. How to answer that modestly....cause I wanna give hints! I'm working on my next Novel and it will probably be my longest length to date. Gotta hint that THIS ONE is going to be a SEXY, HOT, Paranormal Romance that will knock your socks off! (Smiling here) Okay, modestly, let's just say that I'm HOPING it will knock socks off.

Thanks, Kari, so much for visiting. I'd wave goodbye, but I'm holding on to my socks.
Thanks, and hugs,
Kari.
Keep Reading! I'll keep Writing!

KARI'S CONTEST!
Here's a great deal. A chance to win twice! BOGOF: Buy one book from my list, send me the Proof of Purchase to authorkari@yahoo.com and I will send you a FREE .PDF book of your choice from my list. TWO books for the price of one!

8 comments:

  1. Great answers. ;) How can paranormal romance's end be in sight with TWILIGHT sales burning up the bestseller lists??? Now, do you have The Sight?

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  2. Great interview, ladies. I agree with Kari. Those who write paranormal are definitely 'unique' to say the least!

    Hugs,
    Destiny

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  3. Oh I love paranormal funny at my last RWA Chapter meeting paranormal came up and the author that spoke didn't care for it at all lol. I told them oh but I love it all kinds of it. Oh wait at age 57 I grew up with Outer Limits, Twilight Zone, Rod Serling NIght Gallery, AND NEVER FORGET Dark Shadows the afternoon soap for teens, we also had Voyage to the Bottomof the Sea laugh at the dates there ladies, Star Trek all of them including the movies. I enjoyed the Time Tunnel and then there was Qunatum Leap, I love it all. I willbe checking out Kari's books soon. Right now money is an issue of not enough to go around-lol.

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  4. Nope, I'm not sane at all. Wonderful interview. Found the link on twitter and had to come check it out. Great title for blog! Thanks for sharing, Amber and Kari!

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  5. Wonderful interview,Kari. I can vouch for your heros. They are hot and can be visualized by your descriptions. There is no end to any genre in my opinion. And certainly not paranormal. It has been around as long as I can remember. Just keeps getting better.
    You go girl!
    Cierra

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  6. I like the title of this blog. Paranormal romance is here to stay. It's fun to write and fun to read. And who in their right mind would ever want to be normal? Thanks for the validation, Kari, and continued success with your books.

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  7. Great interview, Kari. ;o)

    You are so right...

    "But each book is unique, has its own special characters, and holds its own, in the Romance industry, against the other books."

    Paranormal is an awesome genre.

    I am not sane either. (grin & cackle)

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  8. Thanks to all the normal and paranormal writers for popping in.
    Hugs to all,

    Kari(channeled by Amber due to technical problems)

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