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March 8, 2017

Paranormal Romance…It’s Harder Than It Looks


By Jodi Vaughn


Ever since I was a child I always had stories in my head. These stories always had the hero and heroine doing extraordinary things, things that only paranormal or supernatural creatures could do. I love not having boundaries. That’s what draws me to write paranormal romance.

While there are no boundaries, there are some rules to writing paranormal romance. Once I have my characters fleshed out and my story plotted, I need to set up my rules. Paranormal characters have powers as well as weaknesses. I need to know what they can and can’t do and I need to make sure I stick to my rules.

For instance, my werewolves in RISE OF THE ARKANSAS WEREWOLVES series are born werewolves. In my world, my werewolves are forbidden to bite humans for fear of outing the species to the human population. If a human is bitten by a werewolf, they won’t ever shift, but they will carry enough of the DNA in their blood which will allow them to mate a werewolf.

Another rule I set up is how a werewolf can be killed. My werewolves heal incredibly fast (think Wolverine from X-Men!). If they are stabbed by a silver dagger it will certainly hurt but it won’t necessarily kill them if the dagger is pulled out. If a werewolf is shot by a silver bullet and the bullet stays in their bodies it will slowly poison them until they die. But if you dig out the silver bullet they should be able to heal, it just takes a longer. The only two ways to kill a werewolf in my world is to shoot them in head with a silver bullet or behead them.  

Sounds fun huh? 

When writing my paranormal world, I also did a lot of research about wolves, the state of Arkansas, and legends regarding werewolves. I try to incorporate some of the things I find into my stories to make it feel more authentic. Wolves travel in packs so the best way for my werewolves to travel would be on Harleys. Plus I love riding motorcycles! Upon doing my research I found out that red wolves were thought to be extinct (they’re making a comeback) and I saw that as an opportunity for a story line in BY THE LIGHT OF THE MOON. In fact, I made my villains red wolves.  

So I research, make my rules, and compile a series Bible.  A series Bible can be either files on the computer or a book. I prefer a book. It sits on my book case where I can easily find it. My series Bible is a binder consisting of every detail from each book. So if I forget what a secondary character looked like in book one I can go back and look it up.

I’m drawn to paranormal romance because of the larger than life heroes, the sacrifices they are willing to make and the strength of the female characters. While it’s not easy, it certainly is entertaining. In a world where you can do or be anything, imagination is everything.
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Jodi Vaughn is an USA TODAY bestselling author and a National Readers Choice Award finalist for best paranormal. She is the author of the RISE OF THE ARKANSAS WEREWOLVES series and writes paranormal romance as well as contemporary romance. Born and raised in Mississippi, her deep Southern roots and love of the paranormal led her to write Southern Paranormal novels. When she is not conversing with characters in her head, she can be found at her home in Northeast Arkansas with her handsome husband, brilliant son, a temperamental swan, and yellow lab that is fond of retrieving turtles when duck season is over. She has recently added a black lab to their family who will eat anything not nailed down. Find her on Facebook, Jodi Vaughn, author. Follow her on Twitter and Periscope @JodiVaughn1 Sign up for her newsletter and check out her website http://jodivaughn.com Find her on Instagram at VaughnJodi



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