PNR Inklings

This week’s blog topic:  Hot Paranormals.

A member on one of the email loops asked ‘can a paranormal story be written without a great deal of sex’.  I thought we’d use this as a discussion board for our first blog. At first, I thought what does one have to do with the other. Sex sells and paranormal romance sells. I tried to mentally go through the different Paranormal Romance books I’ve read. I went over the ones I’ve reviewed and I came to a quick conclusion. I like sexy books!  The ones that appealed to me the most were dark and sensual with enough sex to curl my toes.

Does this mean I wouldn’t like a sweet paranormal romance? Nope, I’m sure I’ve enjoyed plenty, but my preference would have to be one filled with heat. I still need the emotion and the romantic tale to captivate me, but a story that has it all blows me away. There’s plenty of paranormal tales that range from sweet to erotic. There’s room for any level of heat.

When I think of vampires that have sex appeal oozing from their pores, or werewolves that shift into masculine hunks, I want to read all aspects of their personality; including how they are between the sheets. The culmination of emotion and lust coming together in a scene that would melt ice in the arctic defines my ideal romantic scene.  A perfect example of this is His Final Seduction by Scarlett Childs.
So my response to ‘Can a paranormal story be written without a great deal of sex?’ Sure.  For me though, I want the book that has it all; imagination, adventure, and plenty of sex. ~Kristy

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In response to the first ‘member question’ in our new discussion about paranormal romance ‘Can a paranormal story be written without a great deal of sex?’, I have just finished reading Diana Castilleja’s 2nd book in her  Aiza Clan series, which is a short paranormal romance, with no sex, and it works!! Beautifully.  That doesn’t mean there’s no emotional or sexual impact, there is, but it is implied rather than explicit.  It is fast paced, tightly packed with emotion, mystery and suspense, all in just over one hundred pages.  If she’d stopped to add in hot steamy sex, I feel it would have obstructed the impact of her story.

When you pick up a paranormal romance is it for the quality of the writing or simply to see how the writer incorporates sex with paranormal?  Whether sex is included in the book or not, it is the quality of the writing that will sell the title.  It is the quality of the writing that will call you back to pick out your favorite author on your next trip to the book shop, or e-book site.

Some writers portray a sex scene effortlessly while others are obviously not comfortable with writing such scenes.  I have read romances classified as steamy and enjoyed them, as I have other romances classified a ‘sweet’, and still enjoyed them.  It all comes down to the quality of the writer, and a good writer of paranormal will sell her story because the reader, firstly enjoys her style of writing.  If that style includes a hot sex scene or two, then ‘her’ fans will be happy.  If another reader picks up the same book but don’t enjoy explicit sex scenes they are unlikely to read her books again, but if her writing is of a quality that surpasses the reader’s initial reserve, that author may yet add another fan to her list of faithful readers.

In answer to the question -  ‘Can a paranormal story be written without a great deal of sex?’  Then I have to say, ‘yes’ I think they can.  But it is the quality of the writing that will ultimately sell the next, and the next paranormal romance book they write, not the amount or lack of sex scenes.  ~ Jackie