PARANORMAL FOREPLAY

Hi everyone – I’m Linda Thomas-Sundstrom, and I’d love to chat with you tonight? about “paranormal foreplay” in the books we love. I’d be really interested to hear your take on these questions, as I confess my own thoughts on the matter.

Paranormal:

What’s so freaking cool about it?

What is it about a paranormal story that turns you on, as a reader?

As an author who writes vampire and werewolf tales for Kensington, Dorchester, and Silhouette Nocturne,? I have my own ideas, of course. And the first one revolves around? the phrase “Forbidden fruit.” The “guys” we, as um… good girls… aren’t supposed to give the time of day to, yet curl up with at night with when the lights are low and we have time to indulge in our bookish fantasies. You know what I mean. These guys are leading the best-seller lists all over the place.

The second word is “Foreplay.”

And not necessarily the meaning of the word that initially comes to your mind. There’s much more than sex that happens when a vampire seduces a woman, which would be foreplay in its sexual connotations. But what else is there that turns us on?

Most of those “guys” of whatever species you prefer, are of the tall,? dark, and dangerous persuasion. So what makes one character standout over others? Why do some? males make us pant? Usually, in my humble opinion, it comes back to that same word. “foreplay.” Which to me means the way a vampire seduces. The process of a good alpha Were seduction. Dangerous, sure, but oh-so-sensual. So sexy. so very special. For me, foreplay means the sighting, the chase, the intimate and immediate knowledge that this other being is the one. And then how the seducer goes about getting the other being to understand this.

Have to mention here that —- It isn’t in my writing vocabulary to present weak females in my books. Nor overwhelmingly dark males. Most of my characters have real day jobs that I present in as normal a world as our own (vampires excluded). As in “they’re here, but most of us don’t know it yet.” This provides, for me, a more believable unbelievable story. ha. I can be there. I can both dig and comprehend this.

You won’t find one brainless female in my stuff. Without exception, my heroines are intelligent, feisty young women able to mutter a good comeback to their dark and dangerous counterparts. Some of them are the Others, themselves. But no matter how strong, feisty, or intelligent the characters are, there is an immediate internal sex-o-meter that connects my couples. And this is brought about, created, and enhanced? by foreplay ? which for me is so much more that going to bed. It’s the breaking down of rules of attraction,? and the sheer intelligence behind all those? blue, green, brown or black eyes that allows for a sexy, sensual, physical and intellectual meeting of a male and a female… that enables each to understand and push the others’ buttons quite nicely.

I write both dark and light paranormals.

My latest release was “Barbie and the Beast” from Dorchester, a book that was an American Title top finalist. Bet you just know that was a light, frivolous book, eh?

My current contract is with Nocturne for a five book series, completed now – in both Nocturne Bites (ebook novellas, January and February 09) and full books in a series titled “Wolf Moons” that will be out in print in January, February, and March of 2010, back to back. Darker stuff with plenty of danger. But the intent on my part, whether writing light or dark, is always the same. And it’s that word used above. Shall we all shout it? “FOREPLAY”.

For a paranormal story to really grip me, and suck me in (!) I, as a reader and writer,? need to be seduced.

So —— what about you?

Though I am teaching classes today I my day gig, I’m coming back here to chat in between, and I’ll be here tonight. Love to hear what you have to say.

xo

Linda