Paranormal Lovers discussion

That makes you desperate to read it?

I got asked this question when it comes to writing it in a recent interview. For me, as reader and writer, I LOVE the paranormal because it's not 'real' (or is it? ;) ).

I love imagining all the stuff the character can do BECAUSE they aren't 100% human. I love the fantasy of it. The extra conflicts that come because of it.

I'm sure I'm not alone and I'm sure there are other reasons for being so devoted to it as a genre.

What do you think?

:)

Aimee, author Little White Lies

i love paranormal because i think it's more exciting the fact that the character's aren't 'real' and that it couldn't possibly happen in real life.

This year i actually did research on paranormal books and why people like them so much (i'm a psych student) and found that people like them so much because they cause reversals in emotions and that's what keeps them reading and hooked to the book, because in most their is a love story as well as action and the love story causes a rise in excitement and the action causes a rise in anxiety because you don't know what's gonna happen and they r opposites of each other and as they switch is keeps your attention hooked so the reader keeps reading.

Great question :), for me i love the escape, the fiction of it. To be taken on a journey that a part of you wishes could really happen. I mean the stories, the men, the women arent real yet a great can make you feel as if they are, as if there is a clan of vampires or a pack of werewolves that we as everyday people just bypass. Who doesnt want to feel as if there is something more out there for us, instead of the daily grind. :D

OK - so I'm weird, but this is how I got hooked on PNR:

As a small child I loved fairy stories (Anderson, Grimm, Lang etc)and I devoured them as only a child can. As an older child (still under 10) I found Greek and Roman Mythology - and my fantasy world expanded ! Still in my early teens, I graduated to the Arthurian mythos; and folk lore/legend hit me in my later teens.
At this time (1950/60's) there was very little fiction of this sort around so I had to be satisfied with the "non-fiction" available. Then when at college I found SciFi and my world was complete.

So, basically, having been immersed in fantasy, magic, and myth for most of my life, it's VERY natural that I read all (and any!) PNR stuff available. As SciFi developed and became Fantasy/SciFi, incredible authors appeared: Marion Zimmer Bradley, Andre Norton, Roger Zelazny, Piers Anthony etc etc to name a few. And then Anne Rice hit the market with her Vampires in the 80's; so here we are in the present with a plethora of paranormal.

It's like being a child again, reading today's PNR. Lots of fantasy worlds to visit; incredible characters to love, and fantastic action/adventure to dig into.

OK, my mother used to complain that I lived in a fantasy world of my own, but I thought then (as I do now) that sometimes fantasy is really MUCH better than this "normal" world. :)

Rebecca wrote: "Great question :), for me i love the escape, the fiction of it. To be taken on a journey that a part of you wishes could really happen. I mean the stories, the men, the women arent real yet a great..."

Yep, definitely the escapism for me, too. :o)
If you find an author with the skill to pull you into her created world, then you can often be left thinking, 'but what if ...' and I love that in PNR--the suspension of disbelief.

Great topic, Aimee

J.A. Belfield
Author, Darkness & Light

I agree with you, Carole-Ann...I was raised reading Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, Grimm's...anything out of the ordinary. I love escaping into vibrant new worlds where the rules are different and the action is too hot to handle! I love the intense passion that primal, animalistic urges can have on a story! There is a quote by Gerald Hausman which says: We fear the beast because we fear the beast within. I think that sums up the desperate cravings for PNR because we all have deep, dark cravings that really only a fantasy can provide in safety. :)

@Erin said: There is a quote by Gerald Hausman which says: We fear the beast because we fear the beast within.

That's awesome!

We love the supernatural because it's a world we wish we could be a part of, a world that defies logic and instills excitement!

Kristy wrote: "We love the supernatural because it's a world we wish we could be a part of, a world that defies logic and instills excitement!"

Totally in agreement!! :)

@ Erin, Kristy and Aimee -

Weird person here again - I so totally wish that all these paramormals DO exist - they'd be so interesting (and frightening) to know.

But I think it would make us (aka humans) re-evaluate our society, and all the horrid, nasty things that we do to each other. Our whole society (worldwide, I think) could do with a re-think on our standards, mores, and what is best for our well-being. There are too many double standards; too much grasping for power or control; too much lying and deceit; and the majority of us tend to be too complacent in our comfy lives.

If we had supers in our world (as a threat or an ally), it might (only might!) bring out the best in people.

Sorry to be grim about this, but it's a current dislike about modern society as a whole.

I see your point Carole-Ann, and suspect you may be right about society changing. Then again, we might do what some of us always seem to do and that's try to ostracize and or eliminate those that are different from ourselves.

Kristy wrote: "I see your point Carole-Ann, and suspect you may be right about society changing. Then again, we might do what some of us always seem to do and that's try to ostracize and or eliminate those that a..."

Sorry, I'm such an idealist. I recognise that "different" can mean much to lots of people and until we accept 'difference', in whatever form it takes, we are flawed and inconsiderate. Total equality is never going to happen - I shall just have to live with it (an obvious penalty for my idealism).

I almost never read realistic fiction. Why? I get enough reality in real life! PNR is the perfect antithesis to that. I want to be swept away by my stories! Total escapism.

S.M. wrote: "I almost never read realistic fiction. Why? I get enough reality in real life! PNR is the perfect antithesis to that. I want to be swept away by my stories! Total escapism."

100% agree with you S.M.! Nothing is better than shutting out the real world for a few hours while I dive into some paranormal fiction. It's a vacation for my brain.

I agree as well.

Sara, i need you next book noooow. Ur killing me. i wanna know what happens after six moon summer.

Kaye260, I agree wholeheartedly. No matter how stressful my day is, getting to shut off and go into the Hunger Games on my lunch break is like transporting myself to Panem. Um... not that a vacation in Panem would be that good, actually.

KAY! Jeez, I'm stalking you all over the Internet now, aren't I? Haha! Would you like an e-ARC of All Hallows' Moon? It's probably too late to get a review in time before the release date, but I'd be happy to send you a copy anyhow. :)

Yes please that would be awesome =)
I'll read it straight away =D

Love werewolf novels. Have just added your first book to my reading list for when Mr B is back in work and he brings home pennies for books. :o)

JA it's amazing. =)

Cool. Might be a few weeks before I get to it, but I definitely shall. :o)

For me I like that anything can happen, and we all know that means anything! There are so many possibilities on where the stories can take you that you may be reading books in the same genre but they're all different.

Kate, author Isolation

I hope you like it, JA! I've seen your books around, but I haven't gotten a chance to pick them up just yet. :) My TBR is waaaaay too long right now. I have to get through some of these other books for review first.

Mine's pretty long, too, and my budget has suddenly become pretty small. But I'm always looking for new future reads. Is yours part of a series? Do you have the others out yet?

I know what you mean. I have seriously no budget for books now. Probably for the best, considering my impulse buying habits.

Six Moon Summer is the first in a series. The sequel, All Hallows' Moon, is coming out on September 9th. :) I hope to release the last two next year.

=O
there's gonna b 4???
I didn't know how many there would be
Yey, excited now =D

Awesome! Hopefully, I'll get around to them at some point. At least Kay's happy. :o)

yes i'm very happy. I'm gonna start book 2 tonight, if i ever make myself get of goodreads before 11pm lmao