Guest Blogger: Shiloh Walker

Thanks to the members here at the League for letting me pop in… I appreciate it!

Want to know a word I hear a lot? It’s why.

It’s a question I get asked a lot. From my kids… ie: Mom, why do I have to pick up my room? Why do I have to put up my clothes?

From my darling husband who can’t understand why I love to curl up in a hot bath with a book and a glass of wine… with the door locked. (Moms everywhere probably understand the answer to that one.)

I get it from people I used to work with when they ask me about my writing.

I get it from people I meet at booksignings, who want to know why I have a picture of a sexy chick standing next to an over-sized cougar.

Why do you write that kind of stuff?

That’s the why I’m going to talk about today.

Except I’m not going to answer the why.

I’m going to answer the why not.

Why not write hot paranormal romances?

I love hot paranormal romances. I mean, I’ve got an entire shelf in the DVD cabinet devoted to BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER. My TBR stack is no longer a shelf, it’s an entire book case and half of those books are paranormal.

Why not?

They can be so much fun. I had more fun writing one of my most recent releases, CANDY HOUSES, than I can remember having in quite a while. My lovely host Mark saw me mention the title on twitter when I was working on it and he asked if it was an erotic telling of Hansel and Gretel and why, yes…yes, it was. Except there wasn’t any Hansel. In my story, Hansel was a mean little bastard who died a nasty, nasty death after abusing his sister Gretel. In my story, the characters from fairy tales come to life and they are actually guardian angels…called Grimms. Writing them has just been outright fun.

So why not?

There’s a wealth of inspiration out there, and so many myths and tales you can pull from. Not just vampires, not just werewolves, but witches, psychics, guardian angels, demons…even ghosts. Flipping through books on mythology, cryptids, fairy tales? When you write paranormal, that’s actually research. Watching Buffy can be research. Watching a horror flick late at night with my husband is research.

There are plenty of reasons why I write it…but one of the main reasons…it’s fun.

Do you like to read or write paranormal romance? Who is your favorite author…what is your favorite paranormal creature from fiction?

Again, thanks for having me!

Shiloh Walker

http://shilohwalker.com


Comments

Monica said…
Hot paranormals are so much FUN! It's as if it's supposed to be not as good or worthy is the word I want to use, because it's fun.

If you write some dour literary plotless stuff with a crappy ending and get it published...somehow it seems you get more respect as a real author.

I wanna keep having fun. Pooh on those who ask me why, and why don't I write something more...more what? More depressing? That I like less?

I'm liking shapeshifters more, but different, creative paranormals really turn me on, and there are not many out there.
Anonymous said…
:-) Fun's a good enough reason for me too, Monica.

If you want something hot and sexy, try the Cat and Bones books by Jeaniene Frost-very hot vamps. The mythology is pretty standard for vamps but she's got a voice that just stands out.
Sullivan McPig said…
I love to read paranormal romance! It's a lot of fun and a great way to escape from everyday life. My one big dream is to someday write a really good paranormal romance story myself. (sofar I got 1 and a half reasonably ok fantasy romance/adventure stories (not to mention the gazillion drabbles that didn't make my own strict criteria) and lots of ideas for more.
My favourite paranormal creatures are werewolfs although I also got a soft spot for angels and demons.
I think it's impossible to have a favorite--there are just too many to pick from. Still a fan of the vamps, always will be, but I find my love for the furrier species growing.

Wow. That was completely generic, wasn't it?

Okay, more specifically, my FAVE entity ever was Hell in Tonya Huff's Keeper series. It told jokes in all caps and had a kooky sense of humor.
Anonymous said…
Sullivan, I'm very partial to romances with angels in them. :-)


Jackie-a love for the furrier species? heh
Jen A said…
My mom was visiting me this summer and she asked me WHY ,I read books about Vamps and shifetrs,with a shudder. She doesnt read THAT kind of book! Well by summers end she like Dakota Cassidy and Michelle Bardsley. That was tought too. But she got it! That was the important part. The steamy vamps mages shifter witches wahtever and a good story for a little reality escape. Becasue they are not real...right? :)
As far as Fave authors I dont know if I can narrow that down...I like so many for many reasons! Katie Mac's demon Dog Jim and her Dragon Septs, Dakota fora good laugh with hotness all rolled into one great story, Mark for his snark and gross out zombie bitch greatness, JR WAR..well.hot and awesome, Richelle Mead kick ass heroin and hero and a cliff hanger that had me so irritated I threw my book and couldn't sleep..(Thats a good book)...so many more and all for diffrent reasons.
Fedora said…
A great post, Shiloh! I'm glad you've responded to any doubts simply by writing great stories that clearly many of us love to read. Thanks for writing what you love!
Shiloh Walker said…
Jen A. Way to go you-you got her hooked. ;o)

Flchen: Hey! How are you doing?
Anonymous said…
I'm liking vampires. Especially the kick butt lady vamps, like Selene in Underworld. If they carry and use swords, so much the better.

Barring that, vampire hunters, shape-shifters, are fun.

Tom Gallier

who is anonymous because blogger still rejects my LJ name. Elitist.

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