to let us in on why she writes dark paranormal.
Why dark paranormal?
(by Jolynn Raymond)
If you read a few of my books you will notice a common thread no matter what genre they are, and that thread is darkness. Be they erotic historical romance, kink erotica, or historical paranormal romance, rainbows and sunshine are missing. That is not to say I don’t give happy endings, but along with the happy endings, come a good dose of tribulation, sorrow, and thorns. My characters have to work for their happy endings, often fighting each other and numerous outside forces to claw their way towards love and happiness. Nothing comes easy. I think that my passion for peeling away the frilly romance and exposing the hard realities of life under it all, lends well to paranormal books, or perhaps it’s paranormal aspects that lend well to darkness.
My paranormal historical romance trilogy is set in a time period when those with power really gave no thought, or even made things much harder for those who were poor and under their thumb. Life was brutal is you were poor, or if you were a woman. This way of life opened the door for my leading male character. He is a vampire king who rules without remorse and takes great pleasure from tormenting, slaughtering, and unleashing evil on those he controls. My vampires don’t come with a sugar coating. I portray them as they have been seen through history and not how they are often portrayed in modern media. They are soulless creatures who have no qualms about taking what they want and crushing anyone they choose. My anti-hero is wicked through to his core, and it will take more than a beautiful face to reform him. Many readers hate him before loving him and cannot fathom how he will be forgiven let alone loved by the heroine.
That brings me to the women in my stories. Life was hard, really hard, for women throughout history. They were property, sold by way of arranged marriages for the benefit of the men in their lives. The poor were cattle; women were even lower than the poor. Rich or poor, they were at the mercy of men. Again, the darkness of paranormal magic and vampires sets the stage for a heroine who must struggle and persevere against cruel treatment and the hand life dealt her in order to survive. Often my female lead isn’t strong to start with, but she learns as she struggles. She may hate the anti-hero male for good reason, and by using paranormal aspects in the dark setting of much of our history, I can create an anti-hero who is truly dark, and a heroine who can be helped by way of magic in a time when women had no power.
So therein lies the wonderful merging of history and dark paranormal plots, settings, and characters. The history sparks my Muse and my sometimes twisted imagination adds a good dose of wickedness, evilness, and one hell of a struggle to create a story that combines so much of what I love.
First there was Taken…
Alliana was a young Gypsy woman stolen from her family, she was to be used and discarded, but fate had other ideas. Mikhal was the cruel and evil vampire lord, he was to be feared and despised for all of time, but destiny wouldn’t allow it.
Then there was Torn…
Mikhal never intended to care for Alliana, and she never intended to forgive him for the cruelty he inflicted upon her. Once love began to enter his heart, he vowed to make his unwilling bride happy in her new life. Try as he might to convince her he had changed, Alliana’s heart remained torn between the pain her heart could not forget and the tenderness Mikhal now showed her.
Now there is Treasured…
The evil his past created, threatens their fragile bond and all they hold dear. She will kill to protect her family. He will do anything to save the love he can once more feel. Who will win in the war between the horrors of his past and the promise of their future? Can their love survive the evil he wrought for a hundred years? Can love and goodness overcome terror and hate? Evil means to destroy their happiness. Can a love that is so fragile survive? Who will triumph when darkness once again comes to call?
The final battle unfolds in Treasured.
For more information about Jolynn Raymond and her books, visit her at her website, on Facebook, Goodreads or Twitter.
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