Win a copy of my first werewolf book, KILLING MOON. Tell me why you like paranormal–or why you don’t. On Monday, I’ll pick a winner from the comments on this post and ask the winner to e-mail me her address.
So why did I fall in love with werewolves? And how did I dream up monsters from another time continuum?
My "ah ha" moment came back in fifth grade–when the "book basket" from the D. C. Public Library arrived one morning. When the teacher put RED PLANET, by Robert Heinlein, up on the eraser ledge, the cover illustration made me want to read the book. So I fought my way up to the front of the room to get it before anyone else could.
That’s how my lifelong interest in science fiction and fantasy started. With adventure and mystery thrown in.
In the early sixties, I didn’t have a television set. I got a TV for one reason–-so I could watch a cool new program that my friends were talking about–Star Trek.
At a talk I gave recently, someone in the audience asked me–didn’t you write romance before you wrote paranormal?
Actually, no. My first novel was a kids’ SF story, THE INVASION OF THE BLUE LIGHTS, about a bad alien and a good alien that land in the woods across the street from my house. (Only I gave the house to a 12-year-old boy who was a lot like my son.). In the 80’s, the big romance boom started, and a friend asked if I’d like to write one. I told her I hadn’t read any, so she brought me shopping bags full. And I discovered they were all about the subplot that I’d loved in the science fiction and adventure novels I read–-the development of a relationship between a man and a woman.
Looking back at some of the influences on my career. I think the first alternate universe book I read was THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE. And a good early example for me of the universe that runs parallel to ours but is somehow different was an episode of the original Star Trek, MIRROR MIRROR, where there’s an "evil" universe existing beside ours.
My first werewolf book was DARKER THAN YOU THINK, by Jack Williamson. He made me want to BE a werewolf. In the 90’s I read Robert McCammon’s THE WOLF’S HOUR. Those books really excited me. But it took years before I finally started writing KILLING MOON. It’s set in our world, but there are things here that most people don’t know about, like werewolves and monsters from another universe. After writing five books in the Moon series, I needed to expand my canvas. So for NEW MOON (which will be out in March 2007), I came up with the parallel universe, where the society is quite different from ours. (It’s a bunch of city states like ancient Greece, only the city states came from our gated communities.)
I also know that my readers have been used to my telling the story in THIS universe. So I start here, go there, and come back here–to keep the familiar elements yet expand my canvas.
Rebecca
Sci -fi and fantasy were my favorites growing up. I remember watching all the Star Trek and Star Wars episodes over and over and not getting tired of them. Paranormal fits my need for different worlds and otherworldy creatures. That is why I love it so much. It is unusual and entertaining and allows an escape from everyday life. Don’t we all need that once in awhile.
Comment by Cherie J — September 27, 2006 @ 1:31 pm
I have just recently started reading paranormal romances. I’m drawn to them by the element of danger and “cn this really exist”.
Comment by Estella — September 27, 2006 @ 6:28 pm
I already own it, so do not include me in the drawing.
I love paranormals and werewolves are currently my favorite. I think because they are so primal and alpha. But I have always loved paranormal books and tv. When I was in elementary school I loved books with witch characters. Then I discovered teen paranormal romance in the form of Annette Curtis Klause’s The Silver Kiss and Margret Mahy’s The Changeover. But I had a horrible time finding more like that so I discovered Mercedes Lackey and went strictly fantasy/sci-fi and read that for like 10 years. So that was my intro.
Comment by Kris — September 27, 2006 @ 11:20 pm
I like paranormal novels because they take you into a world so different from the normal daily lives we live. The stories keep you on the edge of your seat wondering what is going to happen next. They are not predictable.
Comment by Crystal Broyles — September 28, 2006 @ 8:46 am
Kris, my daughter is a YA librarian, so she told me about THE SILVER KISS. I liked it a lot. The same author did a werewolf book. Teens in the wolf pack. I didn’t like it as much. It reminded me a little of WOLF LAKE–which I wish they hadn’t cancled so quickly. I would have liked to have seen more of it.
Cherie, I didn’t get to see all the Star Trek episodes until my kids were little. They came on as reruns in the late afternoon, and I’d relax with the kids, watching Star Trek. So they saw them all, too.
I remember my daughter being upset by the Game Master of Triskelion, or whatever it was called. I also remember her reaction to the LOTUS EATERS. The chief colonist comes in and says to Kirk and Spock, “Hello, I’m Alias Sandaval.” My daughter turned to me and asked, “He’s WHAT?” And I had to tell her–”That’s his name!”
The kids and I also watched TWILIGHT ZONE reruns in the afternoons.
So I trained them to F&SF early. With my daughter, it stuck. With my son, not so much. But she is much more of a reader than he is, anyway.
Rebecca
Comment by Rebecca York — September 28, 2006 @ 9:45 am
I love paranormal and Sci Fi for the world building. Truly, the possibilities in such a world are only limited by the imagination and I appreciate a creative author allowing to come along for the ride.
Comment by Little Lamb Lost — September 28, 2006 @ 10:14 am
I adore Sci Fi and paranormal books because they appeal to my inner nerd, without making me feel like a nerd! I also like them because they also subscribe to the belief that anything is possible!
Comment by Jennifer L. — October 2, 2006 @ 2:33 pm
I loved the early Heinlein books–better than his last ones, to tell the truth, as he stopped including plots, sigh. Very much a Star Trek and STNG fan… And I like your werewolves better than vampires–not into blood
Already have the book, too, so not fair to hog the drawing 
Still a fan, tho!
Nicole Byrd
Comment by Nicole Byrd — October 4, 2006 @ 12:49 am