Monday, February 20, 2017

The Appeal of Fated Love

One of my personal favorite paranormal romance story lines is that of the destined or fated lovers. By this I mean that fate or the universe or the powers-that-be have given some kind of sign that these two people are meant to be together forever. The question is, why does this concept appeal so much?


Nice to Be Sure
It’s my opinion that the greatest appeal of destined love is that, in this crazy, grass-is-greener world, it’s so nice to be sure. In this time when divorce is so common and accepted and there are so many “choices”, people are always wondering if they picked the right person. Fated love allows the couple to be absolutely certain (once they get around to admitting they love each other). Wouldn’t it be nice if we didn’t have to second guess ourselves?

Bigger Than Life
Fated love is bigger than real life, which is one of the reasons I like to read paranormal romance in the first place. I like the idea of something so special that it was deemed true and important by fate. Real life relationships are hard, so that larger-than-life connection that somehow makes the “hard” seem easier. Or at least helps you know that at then end of “hard” you’ll still be stronger together.

Fun to Watch
These relationships are oh-so-fun to watch develop. Frequently, the couple finds out they are fated lovers well before they’re ready to admit it. Often when they’ve only just met. People still want the choice, until their choice is made, and then it’s back to “nice to be sure.” So watching the ensuing fireworks is fun.

Unlimited
The way in which fated love happens is limited only by the imagination of the author. Is a Seer involved? Is there some kind of physical sign (glowing light? tattoo? mark?)? Does everyone know or just them? Is it central to the plot? Can they be separated? What happens if someone else tries to break them up? In my Svatura series, I call them te’sorthene and the couple has to figure it out. In Bait N' Witch their sigils burn a tattoo somewhere on their bodies, and grow brighter as their love develops.You get the picture – lots of fun ways to take this concept.

So… are you with me on this whole fated love thing? Is it something that really appeals to you? Or does it annoy you that it’s necessary to help the couple “know for sure” ? Where do you stand on this concept?

3 comments:

CJ Burright said...

I love fated mates too! I've always thought how much easier life would be if your true love had a neon sign on his head that only you could see. Right?!

Diane Burton said...

Ooh, CJ. I love the idea of a neon sign only your true love could see. Great post, Abigail. In fated-love stories, it's fun to watch MCs who do not like each other. Or even stronger, are enemies. That makes the fated match even harder and so much fun to watch/read.

Maureen said...

Sometimes it would be nice to have that magic ball to know if you are making the right choices- so I could see the appeal of fate. Great thought provoking post!