Paranormal romance
Encyclopedia
Paranormal romance is a sub-genre of the romance novel
. A type of speculative fiction
, paranormal romance focuses on romance and includes elements beyond the range of scientific explanation, blending together themes from the genres of traditional fantasy
, science fiction
, or horror
. Paranormal romance may range from traditional category romances, such as those published by Harlequin Mills & Boon
, with a paranormal setting to stories where the main emphasis is on a science fiction or fantasy based plot with a romantic subplot included. Common hallmarks are romantic relationships between humans and vampires, shapeshifters, ghosts, and other entities of a fantastic or otherworldly nature.
Beyond the more prevalent themes involving vampire
s, shapeshifter
s, ghost
s, or time travel
, paranormal romances can also include books featuring characters with psychic
abilities, like telekinesis or telepathy
.
Paranormal romance has its roots in Gothic fiction
. Its most recent revival has been spurred by turn of the century technology, e.g. the internet
and electronic publishing
. Paranormal romances are one of the fastest growing trends in the romance genre.
involving vampire
s, demons, and/or werewolves, or they may be more "normal" manifestations of the paranormal—humans with psychic abilities, witches, or ghost
s. Time-travel, futuristic, and extraterrestrial romances also fall beneath the paranormal umbrella.
These novels often blend elements of other subgenres, including suspense and mystery, with their fantastic themes. A few paranormals are set solely in the past and are structured much like any historical romance novel. Others are set in the future, sometimes on different worlds. Still others have a time-travel element with either the hero or the heroine traveling into the past or the future. Between 2002 and 2004, the number of paranormal romances published in the United States doubled to 170 per year. A popular title in the genre can sell over 500,000 copies.
As in the fantasy
subgenre known as urban fantasy
, many paranormal romances rely on the blend of contemporary life with the existence of supernatural or magically-empowered beings, human or otherwise; sometimes the larger culture is aware of the magical in its midst, sometimes it isn't. Some paranormal romances focus less on the specifics of their alternative worlds than do traditional science fiction or fantasy novels, keeping the attention strongly on the underlying romance. Others develop the alternate reality meticulously, combining well-planned magical systems and inhuman cultures with contemporary reality.
The first futuristic romance to be marketed by a mainstream romance publisher, Jayne Ann Krentz
's Sweet Starfire, was published in 1986 and was a "classic road trip romance" which just happened to be set in a separate galaxy. This genre has become much more popular since 2000. Krentz attributes the popularity of this subgenre to the fact that the novels "are, at heart, classic historical romances that just happen to be set on other worlds."
Terry Spear
's Heart of the Wolf, published in 2008 with Sourcebooks Casablanca, was an urban fantasy
containing paranormal romance, in which human/wolf shape shifters took on the characteristics of both humans and wolves as they live their daily lives. The story explored the possibility that werewolves live among normal humans. Publishers Weekly named it as one of their Best Books of the Year, 2008.
Time-travel romances are a version of the classic "fish out of water" story. In most, the heroine is from the present day and travels into the past to meet the hero. In a smaller subset of these novels, the hero, who lives in the past, travels forward into his future to meet the heroine. A successful time-travel romance must have the characters react logically to their experience, and should investigate some of the differences, both physical and mental, between the world the character normally inhabits and the one in which they have landed. Some writers choose to end their novels with the protagonists trapped in different time periods and unable to be together—to the displeasure of many readers of the genre.
Authors such as Nora Roberts
, Jayne Ann Krentz
, Kresley Cole
, Linnea Sinclair
and Christine Feehan
have written under this genre and won P.E.A.R.L. awards.
Romance novel
The romance novel is a literary genre developed in Western culture, mainly in English-speaking countries. Novels in this genre place their primary focus on the relationship and romantic love between two people, and must have an "emotionally satisfying and optimistic ending." Through the late...
. A type of speculative fiction
Speculative fiction
Speculative fiction is an umbrella term encompassing the more fantastical fiction genres, specifically science fiction, fantasy, horror, supernatural fiction, superhero fiction, utopian and dystopian fiction, apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction, and alternate history in literature as well as...
, paranormal romance focuses on romance and includes elements beyond the range of scientific explanation, blending together themes from the genres of traditional fantasy
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
, science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
, or horror
Horror fiction
Horror fiction also Horror fantasy is a philosophy of literature, which is intended to, or has the capacity to frighten its readers, inducing feelings of horror and terror. It creates an eerie atmosphere. Horror can be either supernatural or non-supernatural...
. Paranormal romance may range from traditional category romances, such as those published by Harlequin Mills & Boon
Harlequin Enterprises Ltd
Harlequin Enterprises Limited is a Toronto, Ontario-based company that is a publisher of series romance and women's fiction. Owned by the Torstar Corporation, the largest newspaper publisher in Canada, the company publishes approximately 120 new titles each month in 29 different languages in 107...
, with a paranormal setting to stories where the main emphasis is on a science fiction or fantasy based plot with a romantic subplot included. Common hallmarks are romantic relationships between humans and vampires, shapeshifters, ghosts, and other entities of a fantastic or otherworldly nature.
Beyond the more prevalent themes involving vampire
Vampire
Vampires are mythological or folkloric beings who subsist by feeding on the life essence of living creatures, regardless of whether they are undead or a living person...
s, shapeshifter
ShapeShifter
ShapeShifter is an Application Enhancer plugin for Mac OS X developed by Unsanity that allows the user to make system-wide modifications to the appearance of the operating system's graphical interface by applying GUI skins through “injection” into running code and without modifying system files,...
s, ghost
Ghost
In traditional belief and fiction, a ghost is the soul or spirit of a deceased person or animal that can appear, in visible form or other manifestation, to the living. Descriptions of the apparition of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to...
s, or time travel
Time travel
Time travel is the concept of moving between different points in time in a manner analogous to moving between different points in space. Time travel could hypothetically involve moving backward in time to a moment earlier than the starting point, or forward to the future of that point without the...
, paranormal romances can also include books featuring characters with psychic
Psychic
A psychic is a person who professes an ability to perceive information hidden from the normal senses through extrasensory perception , or is said by others to have such abilities. It is also used to describe theatrical performers who use techniques such as prestidigitation, cold reading, and hot...
abilities, like telekinesis or telepathy
Telepathy
Telepathy , is the induction of mental states from one mind to another. The term was coined in 1882 by the classical scholar Fredric W. H. Myers, a founder of the Society for Psychical Research, and has remained more popular than the more-correct expression thought-transference...
.
Paranormal romance has its roots in Gothic fiction
Gothic fiction
Gothic fiction, sometimes referred to as Gothic horror, is a genre or mode of literature that combines elements of both horror and romance. Gothicism's origin is attributed to English author Horace Walpole, with his 1764 novel The Castle of Otranto, subtitled "A Gothic Story"...
. Its most recent revival has been spurred by turn of the century technology, e.g. the internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
and electronic publishing
Electronic publishing
Electronic publishing or ePublishing includes the digital publication of e-books and electronic articles, and the development of digital libraries and catalogues. Electronic publishing has become common in scientific publishing where it has been argued that peer-reviewed scientific journals are in...
. Paranormal romances are one of the fastest growing trends in the romance genre.
Definition and subgenres
Paranormal romance blends the real with the fantastic or science fictional. The fantastic elements may be woven into an alternate version of our own world in an urban fantasyUrban fantasy
Urban fantasy is a sub-genre of fantasy defined by place; the fantastic narrative has an urban setting. Many urban fantasies are set in contemporary times and contain supernatural elements. However, the stories can take place in historical, modern, or futuristic periods...
involving vampire
Vampire
Vampires are mythological or folkloric beings who subsist by feeding on the life essence of living creatures, regardless of whether they are undead or a living person...
s, demons, and/or werewolves, or they may be more "normal" manifestations of the paranormal—humans with psychic abilities, witches, or ghost
Ghost
In traditional belief and fiction, a ghost is the soul or spirit of a deceased person or animal that can appear, in visible form or other manifestation, to the living. Descriptions of the apparition of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to...
s. Time-travel, futuristic, and extraterrestrial romances also fall beneath the paranormal umbrella.
These novels often blend elements of other subgenres, including suspense and mystery, with their fantastic themes. A few paranormals are set solely in the past and are structured much like any historical romance novel. Others are set in the future, sometimes on different worlds. Still others have a time-travel element with either the hero or the heroine traveling into the past or the future. Between 2002 and 2004, the number of paranormal romances published in the United States doubled to 170 per year. A popular title in the genre can sell over 500,000 copies.
As in the fantasy
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
subgenre known as urban fantasy
Urban fantasy
Urban fantasy is a sub-genre of fantasy defined by place; the fantastic narrative has an urban setting. Many urban fantasies are set in contemporary times and contain supernatural elements. However, the stories can take place in historical, modern, or futuristic periods...
, many paranormal romances rely on the blend of contemporary life with the existence of supernatural or magically-empowered beings, human or otherwise; sometimes the larger culture is aware of the magical in its midst, sometimes it isn't. Some paranormal romances focus less on the specifics of their alternative worlds than do traditional science fiction or fantasy novels, keeping the attention strongly on the underlying romance. Others develop the alternate reality meticulously, combining well-planned magical systems and inhuman cultures with contemporary reality.
The first futuristic romance to be marketed by a mainstream romance publisher, Jayne Ann Krentz
Jayne Ann Krentz
Jayne Ann Krentz, née Jayne Castle is an American writer of romance novels. Krentz is the author of a string of New York Times bestsellers under seven different pseudonyms. Now, she only uses three names. As Jayne Ann Krentz she writes contemporary romantic-suspense. She uses Amanda Quick for her...
's Sweet Starfire, was published in 1986 and was a "classic road trip romance" which just happened to be set in a separate galaxy. This genre has become much more popular since 2000. Krentz attributes the popularity of this subgenre to the fact that the novels "are, at heart, classic historical romances that just happen to be set on other worlds."
Terry Spear
Terry Spear
Terry Spear born in Sacramento, California, is an award-winning American author who specializes in writing paranormal romance novels and medieval romance novels for both adults and teen audiences. Her urban fantasy romance series started with Heart of the Wolf which Publishers Weekly named as one...
's Heart of the Wolf, published in 2008 with Sourcebooks Casablanca, was an urban fantasy
Urban fantasy
Urban fantasy is a sub-genre of fantasy defined by place; the fantastic narrative has an urban setting. Many urban fantasies are set in contemporary times and contain supernatural elements. However, the stories can take place in historical, modern, or futuristic periods...
containing paranormal romance, in which human/wolf shape shifters took on the characteristics of both humans and wolves as they live their daily lives. The story explored the possibility that werewolves live among normal humans. Publishers Weekly named it as one of their Best Books of the Year, 2008.
Time-travel romances are a version of the classic "fish out of water" story. In most, the heroine is from the present day and travels into the past to meet the hero. In a smaller subset of these novels, the hero, who lives in the past, travels forward into his future to meet the heroine. A successful time-travel romance must have the characters react logically to their experience, and should investigate some of the differences, both physical and mental, between the world the character normally inhabits and the one in which they have landed. Some writers choose to end their novels with the protagonists trapped in different time periods and unable to be together—to the displeasure of many readers of the genre.
P.E.A.R.L. Award
The P.E.A.R.L. (Paranormal Excellence Award for Romantic Literature) is a reader's choice award, presented annually to the top voted paranormal romances by the ParaNormal Romance Groups naming the "best of year" in ten categories related to paranormal romance and romantic science fiction.Authors such as Nora Roberts
Nora Roberts
Nora Roberts is a bestselling American author of more than 209 romance novels. She writes as J.D. Robb for the "In Death" series, and has also written under the pseudonym Jill March...
, Jayne Ann Krentz
Jayne Ann Krentz
Jayne Ann Krentz, née Jayne Castle is an American writer of romance novels. Krentz is the author of a string of New York Times bestsellers under seven different pseudonyms. Now, she only uses three names. As Jayne Ann Krentz she writes contemporary romantic-suspense. She uses Amanda Quick for her...
, Kresley Cole
Kresley Cole
Kresley Cole is a bestselling, award-winning author of paranormal and historical romance novels.-Biography:Before becoming a writer, Cole was a world-ranked athlete, coach, and graduate student...
, Linnea Sinclair
Linnea Sinclair
Linnea Sinclair is an award winning writer of Science Fiction Romance, Fantasy Romance and Paranormal Romance. Sinclair's Gabriel's Ghost was the winner of the 2006 RITA Award in the Best Paranormal Romance category. She has used the pseudonym Megan Sybil Baker...
and Christine Feehan
Christine Feehan
Christine Feehan is an American romance-paranormal writer. She has published more than 26 novels, including five series, and numerous novellas since 1999.-Biography:...
have written under this genre and won P.E.A.R.L. awards.