When Ordinary Isn't An Option Every Day Is Halloween

By Maureen L. Bonatch

The jack-o-lanterns have started to rot and we’ve all gained a few extra pounds of candy weight. Admit it—you know you’ve been sneaking some of the kid’s candy or perhaps all of the trick-or-treaters treats didn’t make it to the bowl. Most ordinary people’s thoughts stray toward Thanksgiving,

Christmas and other holidays. 

Most people, unless you love paranormal and fantasy 365 days a year. Then your thoughts of things that go bump in the night never leaves. Because it ain’t over till it’s over—wait, it is kind of is over, but not for me!

Halloween Is Just a Sneak Peek

The Halloween season just gives those ordinary people a peek into where our minds linger everyday. Those t-shirts decorated with spooky stuff? I’m wearing them all year round and much of those witch decorations have moved back in place in my office where they provide fuel for my muse all year long.

Why Not Join the Fun?

What confound me are the people who say that they “Don’t like to read paranormal or fantasy unless it’s close to Halloween.” Or that they, “Only watch scary movies in October.” Does that mean they can only eat candy in October, too? Often these are the same people who let loose at the costume party with the best costumes, and live it up like they’ve just risen from the grave, or flown in on their broom. Why would you deny yourself this fun all year long?

Granted, maybe you’re not decking yourself out head to toe in a costume but a paranormal/fantasy book has the ability to escape into another world, dream of being able to do magic or visit another planet. Why save the extraordinary for a few months out of the year when you can enjoy it everyday?

Because There Are No Rules in Paranormal

I might be immersed in National Novel Writing Month(NaNoWri) right now, but you can be sure it’s filled with elements of paranormal and fantasy. So I’m not hanging up my broom because I like to enjoy the fun and festivities of the Halloween season all year long. You just might see me rocking my witchy t-shirts year round—because why not?

Who’s ready to fly their freak flag with me?

Check Out Evil Speaks Softly Right Here 

They were never supposed to meet. Fame came easy for Liv by following in the footsteps of the female writers in her family. The cycle repeated for decades…until Liv changed the story. Her villain doesn’t like the revision—and he isn’t a fictional character. In his story, the bad guy always wins.

They were never supposed to find love. Liv never questioned her demanding nocturnal muse, or the strange incidents in her old, family home until she met Gage. His job was to watch her from afar, not reveal the truth about the curse and the stories of the dead. They’ve broken all the rules. Together they unravel secrets as they strive to stop the cycle. Liv’s ability to find love, and protect her loved ones, hangs on the fickle whims of the dead—and they’ve got nothing to lose.

Author Bio: Maureen Bonatch grew up in small town Pennsylvania and her love of the four seasons—hockey, biking, sweat pants and hibernation—keeps her there. While immersed in writing or reading paranormal romance and fantasy, she survives on caffeine, wine, music, and laughter. A feisty Shih Tzu keeps her in line. Find Maureen on her website, Facebook & Twitter

GUEST: Carol Van Atta

Telepathy and Pets in the Far Future

by 

Carol Van Natta

In my Central Galactic Concordance space opera series (shhhh—don’t tell my male readers it’s science fiction romance), humans of the future are evolving “minder” talents. The talents fall into three categories: patterner, telepathy, and telekinesis. These categories were developed by the Citizen Protection Service, a sprawling government agency with several missions, some darker than others.

Patterners include forecasters, who can see patterns in disparate data and predict the future; filers, who have photographic memories for everything; and finders, who can see patterns in disparate data that point to key information.

Telepathy variants telepaths (i.e., read minds), empaths (read and affect emotions), shielders, twisters, and cleaners. The latter two are scary—they can alter memories or erase them altogether, with subject being none the wiser. Shielders can block telepaths from intruding, and even temporarily shut them down.

Telekinesis variants include basic tekes, healers, and animal affinity. The last one is the ability to work with various types of animals, birds, amphibians, and reptiles.

In my story “Pet Trade,” in the Embrace the Romance: Pets in Space 2 anthology, Bethnee Bakonin is a frontier-planet veterinarian who is also a rare, pan-phyla animal affinity minder. She also escaped her dark past in the shady pet trade industry. Whereas the government has strict laws and harsh penalties against tinkering with human genetics and DNA, animals aren't so lucky. Pet-trade researchers and genetic engineers designers breed whatever they think will sell.

Axur Tragon is an ex-elite forces Jumper with cybernetic limbs and several secrets. One of Axur's pets is a chimera, a designer's fantasy with about the size of a German Shepherd, but the resemblance ends there. He has black and brown stripes in his short, sleek fur, six legs and two tails with tufts of fur on the ends. He is, as Axur puts it, "a prime example of what the anti-pet trade activists railed against: tinkering with Terran genetics to create whimsical life forms that would have never survived in the wild, much less natural selection."

Here's a snippet from "Pet Trade," where Bethnee examines Kivo for the first time.

     Axur turned his attention back to Kivo. “Why did they create him at all?”

     She shrugged. “Pretend alien fauna for the wealthy, maybe? It’s a fad.” She stroked the large hump of Kivo’s middle shoulder joints. “The bio-engineers actually got the six legs to work, but the rest of him is a fantasy hodgepodge.” She snorted disdainfully. “Two tails.” She rested her hip against the table and eased the weight off her stiffer leg.

     “He follows me everywhere. He keeps the peace among the other animals, too.” He tilted his head. “Can animals be empaths? I think he tries to cheer me up sometimes.” It sounded daft after he said it out loud, so he was grateful she didn’t laugh.

     “Maybe? Medical scientists still don’t know what combination of DNA and subtrans amino arrays make the difference between human minders and non-minders, or even the gender expression continuum. Who’s to say that animals aren’t evolving along with us?”

Read more in “Pet Trade,” one of twelve stories in the Embrace the Romance: Pets in Space 2 anthology. An elite forces veteran crash lands on a frontier planet with a cargo full of designer pets and must seek the help of a talented, but damaged veterinarian to help him save them.

Embrace the Romance: Pets in Space 2, featuring twelve of today's leading science fiction romance authors, brings you a dozen original stories written just for you! Join in the fun, from the Dragon Lords of Valdier to a trip aboard award-winning author, Veronica Scott's Nebula Zephyr to journeying back to Luda where Grim is King, for stories that will take you out of this world! Join New York Times, USA TODAY, and Award-winning authors S.E. Smith, M.K. Eidem, Susan Grant, Michelle Howard, Cara Bristol, Veronica Scott, Pauline Baird Jones, Laurie A. Green, Sabine Priestley, Jessica E. Subject, Carol Van Natta, and Alexis Glynn Latner as they share stories and help out Hero-Dogs.org, a charity that supports our veterans!

10% of the first month's profits go to Hero-Dogs.org. Hero Dogs raises and trains service dogs and places them free of charge with US Veterans to improve quality of life and restore independence.

Buy your copy of Embrace the Romance: Pets in Space 2 and help support Hero Dogs:

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B073W5WQBH/ 

iBooks: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/embrace-the-romance/id1248937950?mt=11

Nook: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/embrace-the-romance-se-smith/1126723852

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/au/en/ebook/embrace-the-romance-pets-in-space-2

Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/S_E_Smith_Embrace_the_Romance_Pets_in_Space_2?id=Jp8rDwAAQBAJ

About the Author: USA Today bestselling author Carol Van Natta writes science fiction and fantasy, including the award-winning Central Galactic Concordance space opera series, paranormal romance, and retro SF comedy. She loves interacting readers on her website (Author.CarolVanNatta.com) and on Facebook, https://facebook.com/CarolVanNattaAuthor.

Romance with a Capital 'R' by Sorchia DuBois

This is my first post here at Paranormal Romantics and I’m over the moon to be included in this group! By way of introduction, I want to babble about my favorite romance genre: Gothic Romance.

Romance with a little ‘r’ is a love story, but you may remember from your high school literature class that Romance with a capital ‘R’ refers not just to a love story but to a rich, sensory adventure with action, atmosphere, and angst mixed in. 

Mainstream novels portray life—something real that has or could happen in the real world. Romance with a capital ‘R’ is about what might happen—what may have been—once upon a time.

Gothic stories take Romance into the dark side—the vaporous realm of magic, fantastical beasts, and malevolent wraiths. Sensory-rich descriptions create a lucid dream filled with adventure and endless possibilities.

Great Gothic novels deliver more than a momentary shiver. They are hints of ancient terrors, secret whisperings of past lives, warnings from the other side. While you wander in the fantasy, beware. Gothic novels tap into primal fears which, once reawakened, may refuse to go back to sleep—even in the bright sunshine of reality.

Modern Gothic romance has come a long way, baby. Here’s what I’m doing with it in my Zoraida Grey trilogy.

• You have to have a castle or a ruin of some kind. I built Castle Logan in far northern Scotland from bits and pieces of real castles. It has ghosts galore, an oubliette, an enchanted ballroom, and mysterious caverns beneath the ominous East Tower.    

•  Paranormal elements are de rigueur. Castle Logan is haunted by a number of creepy crawlies—the ghosts of a burned witch and a Spanish knight who died a slow death in the oubliette; a Scottish vampiress; a selection of souls imprisoned in crystal; and a handful of wandering spirits. Oh, and did I mention the witches?

• An ancient curse is a nice option. Turns out Zoraida’s very own granny is the victim of a wicked curse and only Zoraida can make things right. Trouble is Granny sends her to Scotland without mentioning exactly how. 

•   Zoraida may be a little naïve and a lot foolhardy, but she’s not a damsel in distress, thank you very much. Though she might not turn down a little help—especially from a handsome Scottish witch.

• But what about a hero? He may be all-that, but he’s also going to have to know how to treat a modern woman. A lot to ask from an old-school witch. 

•    Romance with a little ‘r.’ Yes, please. Smoldering glances across the drawing room blaze into 5-alarm passion. Where traditional Gothic tales stopped at the bedroom door, all bets are off with the modern Gothic Romance.

Haunted castles, angry spirits, mysterious (but devastatingly handsome) men. What else can you ask of a midnight read? 

Tell me—What tickles your fancy? Ghosts? Magic? Cold Shivers? Ancient terrors? True love? What part of Romance with a capital ‘R’ keeps you reading through the wee hours of a dark and stormy night?