Friday, February 26, 2016

Writing a Paranormal Thriller

Posted by: Jenny Schwartz
When paranormal romance is mentioned I often get a sense that people focus on the "romance" element, particularly people who don't read in the genre. They overlook the incredible world building of the best paranormal romance -- think of Patricia Briggs's wolves. The everyday world is reinterpreted with an edge! They also overlook the suspense or thriller aspect of the plot. A lot of paranormal romance novels are about saving the day, unmasking a villain, good conquering evil. That's right, they're thrillers in an unreal world.

Writing The Collegium series has opened my eyes to how strong the suspense plot is in successful paranormal romance. As readers, we want to be avidly turning pages, desperate to know not just if the impossible romance gets its HEA, but how on earth the day will be saved. The thriller and the romance have to hurtle through a re-imagined world to create an unforgettable experience.

My third Collegium novel is out tomorrow. In writing Dragon Knight, I just kept upping the stakes. Desperate dreams, lurking evil, passionate lust, combustible characters (not literally...Morag isn't that kind of dragon!) and more, more, more! The result is something more than magic. 

It is astonishing how flexible the paranormal romance genre is. For a few years we've been hearing that it's dying or dead. Well, I don't think it's a zombie, lurching onto my kindle. It's a genre busy knocking over walls and rearranging space. It's renovating! Something new is just out there. Something amazing. And I think that amazing thing will be an embrace of the thriller aspect. High stakes and epic love stories. I can't wait!


Dragon knight Gina Sidhe serves Earth’s only resident dragon, and she’s been issued with a quest. She must return with Lewis Bennett, President of The Collegium (the world’s magical order of peacekeepers), so that he may learn the Deeper Path of Magic from the dragon. A path that has been denied to Gina, and one she desperately wants. 

But Lewis isn’t interested. He knows his magic has gone, burned out amid a terrible tragedy. Which makes his current task all the harder. He must restructure and repurpose The Collegium in the wake of a shocking and sly demon attack. He doesn’t have time for Gina’s quest, until she offers him the one thing he can’t have: a hidden route out of his Collegium life. 

Because Lewis has his own quest, one secret and lethal, to save the world from a threat no one else believes in. 

Dragon Knight is 99c or free for Kindle Unlimited subscribers.

3 comments:

  1. What an inspiring post! Thank you, Jenny. <3 Let's hear it for renovations! And congrats on the new release!

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    Replies
    1. Thanks, PG :) Yep, renovations are tough to live through, but worth it in the end! Can you pass the hammer? ;)

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  2. LOL D :) Lurch is one of my favourite characters

    Thanks for the kind words.

    Have a fabulous weekend with the family and pups!

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