Young Writers Society

Okay, so I was reading Dream Chaser by Sherrilyn Kenyon, one of my favorite novels. Suddenly, I started wondering: "How the heck does she do this?" I went to dictionary.com and looked up the defintions:

paranormal–adjective of or pertaining to the claimed occurrence of an event or perception without scientific explanation, as psychokinesis, extrasensory perception, or other purportedly supernatural phenomena.

romance-a novel or other prose narrative depicting heroic or marvelous deeds, pageantry, romantic exploits, etc., usually in a historical or imaginary setting

What do YOU guys think paranormal romance means?

DeafWriter

I'd say it would be a romance with strong paranormal facets. Obvious example, Twilight. Girl falls in love, romance. Vampire, paranormal. Girl falls in love with vampire, paranormal romance. At this point I think it's a kind of over-used genre choice, but that's a little beside the point.

I think that just having the word "paranormal" in there means that there has to be something unrealistic about the situation. I like that term, "paranormal faucets".

However, I don't think it necessarily has to be as simple as just sticking a fantasy aspect in it. Making the romance paranormal may add an effect or move the plot in a way that would be impossible if it was happening in our "real" world.

Also, a romance can be paranormal to make the story actually more relatable to the readers. For example, I started reading a manga (Japanese comic book) called Metamo Kiss. I first read it and thought "What the heck is this?". The plot revolves around a boy who comes from a cursed family. Each member of his family has the ability to switch bodies with his/her soulmate when they touch a particular part of their bodies together (i.e. his sister and her cat can switch bodies when they touch noses).

This was completely weird to me (especially the cat thing) until I thought about it from the Japanese perspective. This would make complete sense to them because of their practices and ideas rooted in Buddhism, which preaches reincarnation of the soul. When the soul can be reincarnated in different lives, the physical body doesn't matter; it's only the souls that are linked. The paranormal romance drew on the culture and history of the readers to make the story enjoyable.

No offense, but a paranormal romance doesn't sound all that great. Maybe its the fact that I relate the word "paranormal" with the word "ghosts" and the word "romance" with the word "cheesy". So, a cheesy ghost book does not sound all that great, but this may be the case of don't judge a book by its cover. (No pun intended.)

But I understand what you're trying to say, Kagerou453. If it was all about vampires and there was NO human qualities to it, then no one would read it because the reader wouldn't be able to relate to it. But I read a paranormal romance just recently, Twilight. And you know what, I did not like it. Just the first book, I just couldn't get past it. And ever since that book, anything with the word paranormal and romance stuck side by side I can't get past. Sorry, and I probably never will.