Paranormal in Real Life by Natalie J. Damschroder

I like to say I started writing paranormal romance because I hate to do research, and with paranormal, I can make everything up. In reality, my then-three-year-old daughter said she wanted to meet a dragon one day, a novel's first line popped into my head, and it ballooned from there. That first book had spy heroine trying to get the mage villain to overturn the curse he'd placed a thousand years ago that turned her soulmate into a dragon.

I've since written a slew of paranormal stories featuring people with extraordinary abilities, but they're all set in today's world. Not just in the way most urban fantasy novels are, but fully grounded in our society, rather than in a world set apart, hidden from "normal" people. One of my favorite descriptions was when a friend said "I feel like I can open the yellow pages and find your superhero agency."

It wasn't like a decided consciously to do it this way, but it happened because I would love to encounter some real-life paranormals. A lot of novels explore the down side to such gifts, and I like reading those. But come on. Wouldn't it be awesome to be able to heal someone's injuries? Retrieve the lost wedding band from under the floorboards without having to rip up half the floor? Turn a guy's shower water blue and make him think his dog caught on fire in retaliation for being a jerk?

I'm not the only one who thinks paranormality is cool. It's become so popular not just in fiction, but in reality TV and the increase in psychics putting out a shingle. Is it real? I have no idea. I haven't actually encountered anything that couldn't be explained or dismissed. But I like to think it is.

Some would say we as a society are so into it nowadays because it's an escape from the dark reality our country is living in, or because we're having faith issues and want evidence of an afterlife or whatever. I think we're just ready to take things to the next level. Humans are scientists. We want to explain things, and have never stopped trying to understand our existence and how it ties in to everything around us. So much has been explained, now, that it's almost inevitable that we look harder at things well outside the realm of science.

So like I said, I've never personally witnessed anything that seemed paranormal. How about you? Tell me about your freaky encounters, the abilities of people you've met or heard about, or the power you wish you had!

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Under the Moon November 15, 2011
Entangled Publishing | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Their power gives them strength…and makes them targets.

Quinn Caldwell is the epitome of a modern goddess. Her power source is the moon, her abilities restricted only by physical resources and lunar phase. She runs a consulting business and her father’s bar, serves on the board of the ancient Society for Goddess Education and Defense, and yearns for Nick Jarrett, professional goddess protector and the soul mate she can never have.

But someone has developed the rare and difficult ability to drain a goddess of her powers, and Quinn is a target. With the world thinking Nick has gone rogue (whatever that means) and that Quinn is influenced by “family ties” she didn’t know she had, keeping themselves safe while working to find the enemy proves harder each day.

But not as hard as denying their hearts…

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You can learn more about Natalie and her books at her website, eHarlequin, Goodreads, Twitter, and Facebook. She blogs with four other obsessed passionate Supernatural fans at Supernatural Sisters, with a number of fantastic romance authors at Everybody Needs a Little Romance, and just to hear herself talk at Indulge Yourself.