Michelle Lauren

I’m really happy to introduce this month’s Guest Blogger , Rae Lori (author of A Kiss of Ashen Twilight , available February 2009 from Lyrical Press, Inc.) To learn more about Rae, visit her site . So sit back and enjoy!

Multicultural Paranormality: The Next Generation of Paranormal & Fantasy

By Rae Lori

Multicultural Paranormality. Say that three times fast. ;-)

The paranormal genre has continued to be a driving force in the speculative genre as of late. Many new authors are popping up and exploring the depths of their imagination and how far they can take their genre bending stories. I’ve written about the rise and the allure of the paranormal and,  [in addition to the]  many themes and stories various authors have explored within it, there is still more to discover.

Agents and editors are clamoring for more outside the ever popular topics of vampires, werewolves, ghosts and the tried and true. As a reader I’d love to see more explored in this genre as well.

It’s no secret that I’m an avid IR (interracial romance) reader, among many other things. I love seeing books featuring strong black heroines falling in love and making a life with various cultures of men. Sure we don’t see the ‘making a life’ part in many romances as they often end in the favorite HEA, and perhaps this could be another opening in the mixing of genres as well as heroes and heroines. I’m also a big fan of speculative (science fiction and fantasy) as well as a new fan of historicals. I would love to see more historical IR novels that deal with different settings time periods and cultures. Throw in some paranormal and my TBR pile will have officially kicked me out of my own living space.

The problem with this experimentation is the large houses don’t see these as big sellers. Harlequin opens up their lines sometimes to IR pairings, but this is pretty rare and mostly for their already established in house authors. It’s a treat when it happens, but I always say it’s like Haley’s Comet.

In historicals, the tried and true formulas are Regencies, Dukes, Scottish Highlanders, Tudors, Rakes and all that. Very rarely does it step outside of this formula. That’s all fine and good; obviously these books sell a great deal for a reason. But I would love to see more.

The cool thing is the small press and e presses are taking chances where none haven’t, as of yet. They’ve been a driving force in the paranormal and erotica genres, often leading the way for big NY houses to follow. As NY closes its doors to new and risky authors, I think this will be the way for new voices to express themselves.

The saying in writing goes [that] there is nothing new under the sun, but I don’t quite believe that. Sure, there are story mechanisms and technical plots that have been used and re-used since the beginning of mankind. But what makes each story different is the way it’s written. We all come from different backgrounds with various histories that we bring in the perspectives of our stories. That’s what makes different authors and books so fun to dive into. Everyone has a different story to tell and it’s particular to the person reading it. They can learn so much even though the story is there to entertain.

The same could be said for authors and genres and I think this is what will make the paranormal subgenre continue on. Imagine adding in some mythological legends as a backdrop of the story. The characters change based on their settings which [are] formed by the world and time period that is built around them. With a dash of history to give it a backdrop and a real world setting, the stories change.

I’d love to see world mythology throughout the paranormal genre. Vampires and werewolves are fabulous, but the pop cultural icons change based on where they came from. The Dahomey mythology in West Africa (now called Benin) has their own vampire mythology in the form of an Asiman, a creature that takes the form of animals and sucks the life from crops. This differs from the Jiang Shi in Chinese mythology which is basically a reanimated corpse with misplaced souls.

I would also love to see the paranormal venture out of European origins. While interesting, it’d be great to see men and women of color falling in love as they battle and live as creatures in today’s society. History has such rich African influence even in Europe and it would be great to explore these stories of the past and how they came to be. Sadly this history has been hidden for most of the past and, with the internet opening up new forms of communication and ways to find much of this hidden treasure, it can also open up a wonderful new form of fictional storytelling. Much of it could even be used as an allegory for what it’s like being the ‘other’ seeing life outside of what is usually considered ‘the norm’.

There’s a world of mythology and world history out there for the taking, and with the amount of new and aspiring writers cropping up the mind is only limited by its imagination. Why not see how far it takes you?

Thanks so much for joining us Rae! So here is my Question to Readers:

What are your favorite books in the genres of paranormal romance, urban fantasy and speculative fiction that incorporate mythology  from different cultures?

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