Like it, love it, hate it, or struggle to understand it…but monster romance and monster erotica are taking BookTok by storm. Hashtags like #monsterlovers, #monsterfudgers, and #monsterromance have millions to billions of videos made by authors, readers, and fanatics. This new subgenre of fantasy and paranormal romance is led by the Queen of Alien Romance, Ruby Dixon. Her Ice Planet Barbarian book series was first released in 2015 and changed the way romance readers felt about men with horns and tails…or did she? Below I have listed my top 7 warning signs that we were destined to be fated mates to heroes with scales, horns, tails, furry pecs, skull heads, tree limb embraces, and alien peens.
1. Swamp Thing – Abby
Arcane first appeared in the Swamp Thing comic book in the 1970s. In comics and
movies of this era, monsters kidnapping females due to unrequited love was a
popular theme. Some of my favorite vintage monsters who did this are King Kong,
the Creature from the Black Lagoon, and the Mummy. Abby Arcane not only lives
in the swamp willingly but also falls in love with the monster after failed
relationships with the scientists trying to kill him. They have a unique
“wedding” in the comic series and hybrid children.
2. Planet of the Apes—Whether
I refer to the television series of the 1970s, the 2001 film remake, or the
early 2010s spin-off trilogy, Planet of the Apes leads the way in Cryptid
romances. In this movie franchise, the cryptids are the technologically
advanced species, and the humans are the primitive species. Ari, the scientist
and Leo Davidson’s love interest, has extinct Australopithecus facial features
but the technological skills of a futuristic humanoid. While the pair share a
steamy on-screen kiss, they do not end with a happily ever after.
3. Star Trek—The goal of
the creators of Star Trek was to create a future where all races lived in
harmony, but they didn’t stop at human races. What alien princess didn’t share
a kiss with Captain Kurk when he was played by William Shatner? While most of the
Star Trek alien love interests were humans with a different language, there
were a few monster romances. Fans loved watching Jadzia and Worf fall in love
despite her being a human and he a Klingon. Not even the language barrier was
enough to stop the power of intergalactic love.
4. Thundercats—I loved
this 1980s Saturday morning cartoon where cat-like people were superheroes. Gang
leader Lion-o shared steamy kisses with Cheetara before she ditched him for
Tygra. After rewatching the episodes where Cheetara helps Tygra practice with
his whip as an adult, I don’t blame her for choosing the gravelly-voiced tiger
hybrid over the goodie-two-shoes Lion-O. However, Lion-O soon rebounds and
marries WilyKit. This is a large age-gap pairing since she’s obviously a child
when she joins the Thundercats under Lion-O’s leadership. Ah hem…
5. Beast from Beauty and
the Beast—Whenever I say I’m writing a “monster romance,” I’m asked if it’s
“like Beauty and the Beast” from the 1990s movie by Disney. This one slipped
under the censors’ noses because ultimately, Belle breaks the spell and lives happily
ever after with a human prince. However, they missed one vital part of the
curse. Beast couldn’t tell Belle that he was a cursed prince. This means Belle
was ready to commit her life to him in Beast form. Yeah, that romantic ballroom
dancing scene takes on a whole new meaning when…
6. Gargoyles (Disney TV
show)—Around the same time as Beauty and the Beast was hitting the big screen.
Disney was inspiring monster romances on the small screen too. Gargoyles was an
“after-school cartoon” favorite in my house while I was growing up in the
1990s. These monsters protect modern-day New York City just like they protected
Scotland in their past. While ColdStone and ColdFire are a gargoyle-to-gargoyle
pairing, many of the beloved couples are gargoyle to human. Who could forget
Brooklyn with Abby or Broadway with Angela? Rewatching this cartoon on Disney+
as an adult made me wonder if my parents knew what I was watching after
school…and why they were surprised when I chose to write first shifter romance
and then…
7. Shifter Romance in paranormal
romance—Starting with The Wolfman and maturing to Sam in The Southern Vampire
Mysteries by Charlaine Harris, the
shifter romance genre exploded in the early 2000s. Some of my favorites are
written by Lora Leigh, Christine Warren, Kat Kinney, Elisha Bugg, and Christine
Feehan. I even added to the genre with my Strawberry Shifters contemporary
paranormal romance series and Dance to a Wylder Beat a bear-shifter western.
From hummingbirds to donuts, dinosaurs to pets, and balloon animals to zoo
animals, it seems everything you can think of has been written into a shifter
romance where the main character spends half their time as a human and the
other half as ‘other.’ Some shifters can change completely into an animal form
such as those in the Strawberry shifters while others live as hybrids like in
Thundercats or Lora Leigh’s shifter romance.
And so here we are, pushing the envelope of romance once again. Just
like The Beast, these monsters find love without a human transformation. My
latest book, Cuddling My Chuchunya (preorder for 99 cents here), is about
a Siberian Snow Monster who finds that the anthropologist he rescues is a lady
looking for a monster like him. Dr. Vera Thompson grew up obsessed with the
extinct Australopithecus humanoids from our past but never thought she would
have the chance to speak to a cryptid like those in her books…
Her obsession stands before her, not as an
extinct Australopithecus, but as a living chuchunya…an abominable snow monster
who promises a lifetime of devotion in hiding…
Dr. Vera Thompson
I am one reindeer sleigh ride away from academic notoriety and the corpse
excavation which will catapult my career from junior anthropology fellow to
tenured professor. Crossing the Siberian tundra is not for the faint of heart
but with modern technology like a GPS, cell phone signal, and all-climate
winter gear, I’ll reach the suspected Australopithecus body unearthed by the
melting permafrost. One more day of dodging methane gas pockets under the ice
and my life will change forever…
Artyom
The hairless ones swarmed around my brother’s body like flies from the southern
land. Tradition dictates his next of kin perform his last rites, so I follow
the erratic driving of the hairless ones from a foreign land. If these invaders
discover my chuchunya clan, I fear we are too few to defend our territory under
the ice. I don’t understand why the sled driver throws his passenger into a
ground popper, but the cruel deed activates my coupling (dushevnayasvyaz) instincts to heat my body to an inferno…the first sign of a
soul bond…
Stuck between loyalty to his clan’s secrecy and his
biology, will Artyom trade injured Vera for Denis’s body? Will Vera choose
modern conveniences in Ohio or stay in Siberia with the chuchunya who promises
to cherish her? In such an unforgiving landscape, will Artyom prove
his dushevnayasvyaz by pushing her toward an easier life, even if her
leaving breaks both their hearts?
Cuddling my Chuchunya
will release on 1/13/2023 so preorder your copy for 99c here - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BLCZ7BT7/
7 comments:
Ever since watching Swamp Thing, I've had a "thing" for monster romances. Talk about the ultimate from different worlds!
Absolutely! I wanted to escape o the swamp like Abby too!
I've never heard the term Monster Fudgers, lol. Great post!
I've never heard that term either. This post was a learning experience for me. I know someone who has written monster romance, but not Monster Fudgers as far as I know. Enjoyable post.
I don't think monster romance is new per se, as I remember reading it back in 2010-2012 when I first started reading indie books and ebooks. But, I think it has found a new audience through new forms of social media. Star Trek, Thundercats, Beauty and the Beast, and Gargoyles were definitely some of my favourite show growing up, so I do understand the love of the subgenre!
Monster Romance I've never heard of. Seems it's split off of the paranormal romance. Gargoyles were some of my favorites. Interesting post. Thanks for sharing!
Fascinating topic, with great examples. I've never heard of Monster Fudgers, either. That's what's great about this blog. I learn something every post.
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