Writing Paranormal Romance by Liv Rancourt

Please help me in welcoming a fellow Crimson author, Liv Rancourt!  At the bottom you will notice that she has graciously offered a wonderful giveaway, so make sure to read through the bottom to take part!  Thank you, Liv for visiting us today!

Hey Danica, thank you so much for having me as a guest on your blog! I really appreciate the chance to connect with your readers.

I’m also a Paranormal Romance Fan, and likely will be one for life. I love writing paranormal, because I can let my imagination run without the limits set out by, well, reality. In Forever and Ever, Amen, it  wasn’t enough that Molly had to face some tough times after breaking up with her husband. She got Marked by a Demon, and had to face Three Trials or risk Losing Her Soul.

It’s not just the man of Molly’s dreams who helps her get over her ex. Cass is an Angel, and he stands to Lose His Wings if he give his Heart to Molly.

See? The paranormal element turns everything into a Really Big Deal.

The thing is, though, the basic premise for the story came out of real-life events. A couple of years ago I flew to California to visit my aunt, right before she died of cancer. All her life she had tremendous difficulty dealing with anxiety, and as I waited at the airport for my flight home, I started thinking about how much respect I had for the way she faced her fears. Then I made a list of the things that scared me most.

Then I decided to make a character experience those very things.

But because the seed of the story came from real life, I decided to make it a contemporary romance that happened to include angels and demons. Oh, and a vampire. I mean, what story isn’t improved by the presence of a vampire?

In part, I was inspired by The Radleys by Matt Haig. For those of you who haven’t read this book, it’s basically a family drama…involving a family of vampires. Mr. Haig tells the story of Peter and Helen, a couple who have been married for fifteen or twenty years, and their two teenage children. Peter and Helen are abstainers – sort of the vampiric equivalent of vegans – and they never mention the whole ‘blood thirsty undead’ thing to the kids until a thick-skulled young man tries something creepy with their daughter and awakens her true nature.

Oops.

The thing is, the truth of The Radleys lies in the family dynamic, the way Peter and Helen cope with raising teenagers and keep their marriage fresh. The vampire element just raises the stakes. It also makes for some seriously entertaining moments – especially when Uncle Will shows up.

I’ll let you figure that part out for yourselves.

With Forever and Ever, Amen, I tried to dig into that same territory. The heart of the story is love: the love of a mother for her kids and the fear she feels when her children are threatened. Molly has to learn some things, too, like, it’s possible for a guy to love her without turning her into a trophy on his shelf. And it’s possible for her to stand on her own two feet and do what she thinks is right.

There’s not a lot of blood and fireworks in Forever and Ever, Amen. Instead, there’s angels, demons, heart, humor, and a vampire. What more could you want?

Now, I’ll be giving away an ebook copy of Forever and Ever, Amen to one lucky commenter. Tell me what it is about paranormal stories that you love best, and you’ll be entered to win.

 

Forever and Ever, Amen
Liv Rancourt

Genre: paranormal romance

Publisher: Crimson Romance

ISBN: 1-4405-6413-2
ASIN: B00AWWONGS

Number of pages: 210
Word Count: 65,000

Book Description:

Molly, a forty-something single mom, tangles with the wrong guy and gets a hell of a hickey. That blotch is really a demon’s mark, and she’ll have to face the three things that scare her most to get rid of it.

First, Molly loses her job and then she has a near-sex experience with her philandering, not-quite-ex-husband. Worst of all, she has to sit by a hospital bed, wondering if her son is ever going to wake up.

The Powers That Be assign Cass to help her. He’s an angel who’s trying to earn a seat in the celestial choir by helping out a human in need. Vanquishing the demon would be his ticket up, but only if he plays by the rules. He’ll never earn his wings if he loses his heart to the lovely Molly. But she has even bigger things to worry about. She stands to lose her soul.
 Crimson Romance/ Amazon/ Barnes & Noble/ ARe

About the Author:

Liv Rancourt writes paranormal and romance, often at the same time. She lives with her husband, two teenagers, two cats and one wayward puppy. She likes to create stories that have happy endings, and finds it is a good way to balance her other job in the neonatal intensive care unit.

Liv can be found on-line at her website & blog www.livrancourt.com, on Facebook www.facebook.com/liv.rancourt , or on Twitter www.twitter.com/LivRancourt