At first glance, horror and romance are so different that the idea of combining them in one story might seem weird. While the genres have obvious differences, they also have similarities. Both horror and romance depend on intense emotions. One unlocks people’s fears and the other their desires. Romantic horror or horror romance blurs the line between genres, creating a dark fantasy in which love blossoms in a dangerous setting.
Excerpt:
An aroma much like incense wafted through the room. He remembered that scent — her scent. “Anna?” he said, sitting up and glancing around the room.
Her smoky image appeared seated at the foot of his bed. She solidified, this time wearing a tight dress of purple leather. Fingerless lace gloves covered her hands and arms up to her elbows. She moistened her full, red lips with the tip of her tongue.
“I told you my name,” she said, gazing into his eyes with her dark, hypnotic ones. “Now answer my question.”
When writing a book, I’ve found that I relate to some characters very well and others I can’t relate to at all. Some characters share parts of my personality, even though it’s not always a deliberate decision to give them those traits.
In Blow by Blow, two characters share my point of view regarding love, attraction and being true to yourself. With one, the choice to do this was deliberate. With the other, I wasn’t fully aware at first that I had done this.
Liz is the single, middle-aged owner of A Panoramic View, the club where one of the heroes works part time as a waiter. She’s been around long enough to know exactly who she is. She realizes that she doesn’t need anyone’s approval regarding her personal life. The only opinions that matter belong to the people who love and respect her. She has learned that you can’t please everyone and unfortunately some people judge others without really knowing them.
[Read more…] about Relating to Characters – Sexuality and Similarity by Kate Hill
An arranged marriage is a common theme in romance novels, but one that still remains compelling. Something about the idea of two people who know nothing about each other being intimately bound is both frightening and fascinating. If they’re incompatible, it could end in personal disaster, even if the marriage is in the best interest of their families or countries. If the two fall in love, in many ways it’s a perfect romance.
In a romance novel, the arranged marriage between the hero and heroine invariably ends with a love relationship, but it’s all the trials in between that make the story worthwhile.
In The Red King, Delia’s arranged marriage is not only unwanted, but a surprise. She had expected to spend her life at the convent where she had been reared. She doesn’t think much of men, having a cruel, boorish father as an example. She fears her new husband will be like him. She hates Areus before she even meets him.
[Read more…] about Arranged Marriages in Romance Novels by Kate Hill (@katehillromance)
CLOAK AND DAGGER (WEAPONS OF REDEMPTION 3)
KATE HILL
Available from:
Changeling Press
[Read more…] about New Release: Cloak and Dagger (Weapons of Redemption 3) by Kate Hill
SILVER IRIS (COLLECTION)
KATE HILL
Available from:
Changeling Press
[Read more…] about New Release: Silver Iris (Collection) by Kate Hill