Babel Clash

While I have really enjoyed reading what Jeaniene and Jocelynn have to say about romance in fantasy, sparkly vampires (or lack thereof), and whether or not they’re series junkies, it is time to say goodbye and thank them for spending time on Babel Clash for the past two weeks!  It has been an absolute pleasure having you both on.  Anything you’d like to say (about Eternal Kiss of Darkness & Wait for Dusk, or just in general) before we hand it off to our next guests?

Kelley Armstrong, author of the bestselling Women of the Otherworld series.  The most recent volume, Waking the Witch, just went on sale last Tuesday.

And Marjorie M. Liu, who writes the bestselling Dirk & Steele  and Hunter Kiss series.  A Wild Light, the newest volume in the Hunter Kiss series also came out this past Tuesday.

Welcome to Babel Clash!

I have to admit that I’m writing this blog entry while sitting in the Orlando airport as I prepare to leave the Romance Writers of America conference and finally head home after too many days of traveling. I guess what that means is that I intend to keep today’s post short and sweet, but we’ll see how that goes as I tend to ramble.

One question that Jeaniene and I discussed is whether we preferred book series or stand-alone single titles. I have to admit that I’ve been reading urban fantasy and paranormal romance books for quite a while now, which usually come in series form. As a result, I’ve gotten most accustomed to that format. Furthermore, I think I’ve come to prefer it. The series format allows the writer time to slowly build a relationship between two characters or a number of characters, whether it be of a romantic nature or other, such as the decay of a friendship into enemies. It’s like a nice, slow burn that you get to see over a long period of time. You get that feeling of anticipation and excitement between books as you wait to see what it going to happen next to the characters.

Of course, that doesn’t mean that I don’t read the occasional stand-alone single title. I just recently “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.” It was fun book and was sort of used to cleanse the palette before I jumped into something deeper that would involve my emotions over a longer period of time. The stand-alone novel for me is something that allows me to escape for a short period of time as I take a break between projects.

So, while I read both (actually I’ll read just about anything you hand me, I love reading so much), I have a preference for series as I love the emotional involvement over a longer period of time.

Somehow Jeaniene has conspired to leave me to kick off one of the hard questions that we discussed and I have not noticed it until now. Yes, she’s a sneaky one, so be wary. Of course, the idea was mine so I guess it is only fitting that I kick this one off. I guess I have no one to blame but myself, but I will try blaming Jeaniene anyway.

So, now that I’m done rambling, let’s get down to business. The question that I raised weeks ago when Jeaniene and I were talking was whether you would write a vampire story without a romance. And in truth I think that answer has become a double-edged sword. My first inclination is to say “Yes, you can.” You can very easily make a vampire the villain of the story, wiping away all hopes of the vampire becoming a romantic lead. In fact, you can very easily take the vampires back to their earliest roots of making them a monstrous creature that is a decaying undead that no one wants to date. It’s hard to make someone sexy when they are rotting all over you.

However, I started to think, what if the vampire wasn’t the villain? The predominant view of the vampire in this generation is that he/she is sexy and enticing and oh-so-alluring. In the case of my vampires in the Dark Days series, that sexy allure is masking a monster that will rip your throat out just for the fun of it, but they are still very sexy. Regardless of whether there is a monster lurking under the skin or not, in many books (I know there are some exceptions) the expectation is that the vampire will not only be sexy but will be involved in some kind of romantic interlude, regardless of whether it is a brief fling or true love. As readers of vampire novels, I have to wonder if you are disappointed if a vampire isn’t sexy or involved in some romantic way when they appear in a novel?

The other thought that is rattling around in my head is: what if the vampire is the main character? If I am writing a series, I have to admit that I treat the character the same whether vampire, werewolf, or pixie. The reader is seeing them through a period of their life and it is natural for them to have some kind of romantic side to their life. So in this case, it almost feels necessary for the vampire to have some kind of romance.

To sum up, my answer is “No, you don’t have to have a romance” and “Yes, you do in some cases”. I’m so glad that I settled that. What do you think?

I have to agree with Jeaniene in many ways. Before I wrote my first vampire novel, I read anything in the urban fantasy and paranormal romance genres that I could get my hands on. I couldn’t fill my mind enough with warlocks, vampires, faeries, and werewolves. I loved it all. And it was this love that drove me to write my own urban fantasy novel. I wanted to be enveloped in that fantasy world of my creation.

However, this is where Jeaniene and I diverge. I forced myself to put down most of the urban fantasy and paranormal romance books I had been reading when I started the writing process. There were two reasons for this course of action. The first being my deadline and my fear of writing on a deadline. I’ve never had a deadline for a book before so I wrote I at my own pace. I wasn’t sure that I could finish a book in a few months as was expected. So, to save time and what was left of my sanity, I put all books down and wrote. I actually felt guilty readings books in my spare time because my brain would argue that I should be writing and not reading. So for me, the first step away was a deadline related issue.

The second reason is that I wanted to feel that the Dark Days series was wholly my idea. I had spent enough time reading in the genre to get a feel for the storytelling style and other requirements of the genre. However, I didn’t want to be unconsciously influenced by anything I had read while I was working. Call me paranoid. I was just terrified of being accused of copying someone else’s idea.

Now, I will admit that I snuck in the occasional book that I just couldn’t wait to read, but those tended to be so distinctly different from what I was writing that my paranoia didn’t kick in.

At the moment, I am taking a brief writing break before I head back in for revision of Book 6 of the Dark Days series and I am trying to get a little reading done. Of course, the problem now is that I am grossly behind on all my paranormal reading. Could someone add a few more hours to the day for me?

As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, I’ve been a fan of the paranormal genre since I was a kid. Prior to even starting my own book, I glommed through as many authors as I could find who wrote stories that were dark, dangerous, sexy, and supernatural. After I got my first book contract, it never occurred to me to stop reading in the paranormal genre just because I’d soon be a published author in it. 

However, I know many authors who avoid reading in their own genre because they don’t want to their stories to be influenced by plotlines from other books. I can understand that logic, and I’ve always said that writing isn’t one-size-fits all, so whatever works best for an author is what he/she should stick with. But personally, I don’t worry about being influenced by reading in my genre. Ideas and plotlines, I have a lot of. Too many to ever write, in fact. What I don’t have is another way to gauge what’s been done to death already. For example, I got an idea years ago about a story featuring a teenage heroine who recently relocated to a small town to live with her father (named Charlie, after my grandfather) because her mother was too self-absorbed in her own life. The heroine soon finds out that the small town has a secret – it’s populated by werewolves, and my mythology behind werewolves was based on Native American lore. The heroine was going to end up torn between two boys, one of whom was her age, the other who was hundreds of years old, but still looked like a teen because werewolves didn’t age like humans did. 

Ahem. Many of you will recognize a lot of similarities in this synopsis to Twilight, but I’d never heard of that series when I got this idea. I heard about it later, though, and then realized I’d have to change so many things to avoid the inevitable “rip-off!” comments I’d get if it were published that it wouldn’t even be the same story anymore. I could name dozens of other examples where I *thought* I had a fairly new idea for a storyline, only to find out that it’s been done multiple, multiple times before. Now, I know everything’s been done before and there are no real new ideas, but I find it helpful to have a barometer for what’s a new(ish) spin on a classic trope, and what’s too close to another work to pursue. I get that by being familiar with what’s out in the paranormal market.  

So for  me, reading in my genre is not only what I love – it was love of the genre that led me to want to write in it in the first place, after all – it’s also a way to winnow down future story ideas. If I have a plotline that’s too close to something that’s been done before – especially famously done - I know I either need to put a different twist on it, or abandon it altogether and go with a different idea. As I said, ideas are one thing I have plenty of J.

-Jeaniene Frost

I’m back home briefly from the 2010 San Diego Comic Con and I find this is a very appropriate topic as my brain sorts through all the costumes, art, and general chaotic mayhem that surrounded me for three full days. I think, for writing in general, I am a world watching, a people watcher, a soaker of atmospheres. I try to let everything that surrounds me soak in through the senses until it lights a fire of creativity in my brain. I will walk down the artists’ aisle at Comic Con and let my mind wander as a try to come up with stories that go along with the amazing pictures that they have created. I get excited to see other greatness that people can create and it drives me harder to come up with my own creative, unique stories.

Another place that actually drives me back to the computer is actually the bookstore. I will wander through the aisles, letting my eyes just sort of dance over the spines. I won’t let myself actually pick up any of the books. No, for me, it’s a meeting of the minds. It’s as if I can stand in the middle of the bookstore (particularly the science-fiction/fantasy section) and close my eyes. There I can hear the voices of the other authors supporting me, telling me that I can write that next great book, that it’s going to be hard work but I’m going to love every minute of it. Inspiration comes in the idea that others have come before me and accomplished great things, then so can I.

A little too weird? Well, it’s been well documented that authors are eccentric.

When it comes to my vampires, I have to say that my influences come from my reading of the original gothics in literature. Some of my favorite stories include Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein,” Oscar Wilde’s “The Picture of Dorian Gray,“ Bran Stoker’s “Dracula,” and “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.” During that period, there was a duality of the spirit that people were fighting – their pious outer persona and their inner needs and lusts. I find the study of the human condition, the soul, and the internal struggle for the soul to be extremely interesting. As a result, it colors my own writing.

I guess in the end, for me, inspiration is everywhere. It’s around every corner and waits in the most random moment of your life. You never know where the next turn in your life will lead to an interesting story.

Everyone’s been in that situation where you’re introduced to strangers in a social setting and the question of, “So, what do you do for a living?” comes up. It’s been a source of amusement for me that when I reply, “I’m a writer,” the most frequent response has been, “Really? Children’s books?” as if my gender makes such a connection obvious. The double-take I usually get when I reply, “No. Adult vampire novels” is something I’ve grown to savor, I’ll admit. But after the inevtiable once-over where I wait, fighting the urge to hiss dramatically just to see if the person jumps, I’m often asked what inspired me to write about that instead of “normal” fiction.  

The short answer would be horror movies and romance novels. As a pre-teen, I loved two things that many people would’ve thought I was too young for – scary movies, and my mother’s romance novel collection. Some pre-adolescents swipe their parents’ cigarettes; I took my parents books and snuck to watch the chiller channel when I was supposed to be asleep. Back then, when the TV still cut to static once it got late enough (anyone born after 1980 probably has no idea what I’m talking about, heh) the only movies I found that featured supernatural creatures were horror movies. I glommed through as many as I could watch. Of course, because they were horror movies, most of them didn’t feature supernatural creatures as heroes, much to my dismay. The first movie I saw where the vampire didn’t get killed at the end was Love At First Bite. It was also the first movie I’d seen that incorporated my other great love – a romance storyline.  

The combination of romance with a supernatural creature who wasn’t the villain, all rolled up with humor and sass, was exactly my cup of tea. Problem was, it wasn’t common. To get my romance fix, I usually had to give up paranormal elements. Just like if I wanted to read about worlds where vampires, ghosts, werewolves, and other inhuman creatures existed, that meant romance would be on the very back burner.  

A little over a decade ago, however, something awesome happened. A subgenre of romance became centered on darker paranormals, and the Fantasy/Horror section of the book store started offering titles with more romantic elements in them.  I was finally getting to have my cake and eat it, too. I spent a few years enjoying this trend as a reader before working up the courage to tackle my decades-long dream of writing my own novel. After all, now I knew I wasn’t alone in my preference. I started writing my first novel in 2003 and it had romance, supernatural creatures, action, horror, ass-kicking, and humor. Just the way I liked it. The rest, as they say, is history. 

What drew you to the darker side of the book aisle, readers?

-Jeaniene Frost

While my first love will always be vampires, I have to admit that when it comes to playing in the urban fantasy genre, I am enamored of the fact that I have the chance to work with a broad spectrum of creatures that titillate the mind and soul. The urban fantasy genre not only allows me the freedom to play with characters from all different types of mythologies, but it also opens the door to creating my own creatures.

When I started working on the Dark Days Series, I found that I needed a villain or villains worthy of taking on my power and frightening nightwalkers. I needed something that was fierce and powerful and maybe even a little mad. I needed something with a zealot-like determination toward a single cause. That is how I first came up with the notion of the naturi. The naturi are a nature-based race that were born to protect the earth. Their own strength and powers are derived from the powers of the earth. As a result, they narrowly see humans as destroyers of the earth. So the goal of the naturi is naturally to destroy mankind in their effort to protect the earth. From a nightwalker’s perspective, this simply won’t do, as they are dependent upon humans for both entertainment and sustenance. Hence, nightwalkers and the naturi are natural enemies.

Another desperate love of mine when creating is that I always seek a sense of balance in all things. After I created the naturi, I found that I needed to create a polar opposite to that race so that they have a dark, evil enemy. As a result, the bori sprang into existence. The bori are a soul-based race, that were born to protect the souls of humans. Their own strength and powers come from the souls of humans. So, when the naturi start killing off humans, the bori begin to lose power, and they certainly don’t like that. It’s completely understandable then that the naturi and bori are forever locked in a power struggle for dominance.

Finally, to give both races a sense of history and deep age, I stated that the naturi are responsible for all the old mythology surrounding elves, fairies, hinky-pinks, and the like. When a creature slipped mysteriously out of the woods and attacked a human, it was a naturi. On the other hand, the bori were responsible for the mythology surrounding angels and demons, as these creatures were most likely around to tempt the souls of the humans.

Okay, in my previous post, I talked about being a life-long vamp fan and all the things I did/didn’t like about nosferatu mythology. But any frequent paranormal reader knows that if a story contains a vampire, it probably also contains another non-human creature, too. In fantasy, vampires and werewolves tend to go together like corn and mashed potatoes – yes, my Midwestern upbringing is showing with that analogy, heh – but when I created my fictional world, I went another way. While the occasional ghost might float across the scene in my books, the other main supernatural species in my series in addition to vampires is ghouls. 

Before you get a mental image of something out of Night of the Living Dead, let me elaborate. Just as my vampires look human to the untrained eye, my ghouls also would pass the visual Homo Sapien test. After all, appearance-wise, if I have vampires that blended into to the human crowd, it made sense to me that ghouls would, too. But my vampires and ghouls aren’t exactly alike, and their differences consist of more than a variance in diet (my vampires drink blood to maintain their strength, while ghouls derive their nourishment from raw meat and the occasional consumption of the other, other white meat ;-). 

I liked having a way for the two species to be similar in overall power, but have their differences act as a sort of checks and balance system. For instance, ghouls are harder to kill with their immunity to silver, but Master vampires in my books can fly and ghouls never gain that ability. New vampires are susceptible to falling into an unconscious sleep at dawn, but ghouls have no weakness to sunrise no matter how newly created they are. Vampires can make others vampires on their own, but ghouls can’t create more of their species without vampire assistance, specifically in the form of vamp blood. Without some balance between their strengths and weaknesses, it seemed inevitable that one paranormal species would dominate the other, and that wasn’t the route I wanted to go.  

What about you? Which alternate species do you think would exist well alongside vampires, aside from werewolves? Or do you think vamps and weres are such a winning combination, why fix what isn’t broken?

- Jeaniene Frost