Wednesday, September 05, 2007

Guest Blogger: Caridad Pineiro



When I decided to write paranormals, it was because I was eager to explore not only a whole new world of creatures, but also the darker aspects of my characters that such a new world provided to me.

In THE CALLING vampire series, the paranormal world let me play off the tortured pasts of my heroes, both mortal and immortal, to create characters that were complex and multi-dimensional. Since I had a series going, that complexity allowed me to slowly peel off the layers of the heroes as if they were an onion, exposing new aspects of their nature in each book of the series. For readers who had been with the series from the very beginning, that meant that they would see the constant growth and change of the characters, providing them with a reason to come back for the next book - seeing what else would occur with favorite characters. Besides the constant evolution of the characters in THE CALLING series, there was the added challenge of trying to keep the stories unique, especially since vampires stories seem to abound everywhere now.

How did I try to keep THE CALLING series unique? First of all, I decided this was going to be a cross-genre series. Not only is there a paranormal element to all the books, there is also a strong romantic suspense element. This has helped to not only keep the stories from getting stale, it has brought in readers who might not normally consider reading a paranormal novel.

In addition, the level of paranormal versus romantic suspense varies from book to book. For example, the first book in the series, DARKNESS CALLS, was more about a chase for a serial killer than the paranormal aspects. The fact that the hero, Ryder, is a vampire, does not play a key role in the story until very late in the book. This helped draw in non-paranormal readers, but it also gave paranormal readers who were used to a heavy vampire element a chance to experience a different kind of vampire.

In later books, for example DEVOTION CALLS, the paranormal element took the forefront and the story revolved primarily around the vampires and vampire-like creatures.

Secondly, while I followed many of the established rules of vampire mythology, I also changed a few (with the appropriate explanations) and also added new elements, such as how vampires can procreate or why their blood chemistry is unique (which will lead to some new developments in future stories). Making such changes keeps things fresh for readers who might be tired of the same old vampire traits.

Finally, although the main demons in THE CALLING are vampires, I make it a point of trying to also include demons who are vampire-like, but different. In BLOOD CALLS, the villain is actually a chupacabra - a goat sucker. The chupacabra is a Latino type of vampire demon and relatively unknown which made it fun for readers. In fact, one reader recently wrote to me to let me know about the apparent discovery of a chupacabra in Texas. If you're interested, here's a link to the article: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070901/ap_on_fe_st/mythical_chupacabra

In future books, I'll be introducing Chinese vampires and using their differences to create mayhem in FURY CALLS, which will be out in the spring of 2008.What else do I do to provide fans with variety and keep them guessing? Well, I also write straight romantic suspense (SECRET AGENT REUNION, August 2007) and women's fiction (SOUTH BEACH CHICAS CATCH THEIR MAN, September 2007).Do readers like seeing these different sides of me? Definitely. Many of my paranormal readers also take the time to explore the action and adventure of my romantic suspense and the fun and friend of my Chicas books.For more information on all of my novels, please visit www.thecallingvampirenovels.com and http://www.caridad.com/

5 Comments:

Blogger thewriterslife said...

Great post, Caridad, and thanks for hosting her, Lynda! ;o)

11:51 AM  
Blogger Marta said...

How did a nice girl like you end up writing such steamy stories!

I just finished BLOOD CALLS, and one of the things I liked best was the diversity of the urban setting. I really felt for Ramona -- and I definitely wanted one of her paintings!

Lynda, thanks for having Caridad here!

1:04 PM  
Blogger Lynda Hilburn said...

You're welcome, Dorothy!

Marta: It's my pleasure!

1:21 PM  
Blogger robynl said...

I like books like Secret Agent Reunion; thanks for writing them.

5:50 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Great post Caridad.

11:02 PM  

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