Guest Blogger: Lynda K. Scott

The winner of Lynda's book is: Linda Andrews. Congratulations, Linda!

Eight Rules for Writing Paranormal Romance

1. No matter what you're writing, Characterization Is King. No one wants to read about ho-hum characters who dither and wander aimlessly. They must have a goal and you, the writer, must give them a real personality complete with strengths and weaknesses even if they’re covered with fur under the light of a full moon.

2. No story happens in a vacuum. There must be a setting appropriate to the story, the characters or, at a minimum, the underlying truth you’re trying to express. However, you must be careful to only include the interesting little tidbits of the world you’ve created that are pertinent to the plot/story. Likewise, you must include that one tiny tidbit that explains why your scaled and clawed hero character exists or you’ll leave your reader shaking her head.

3. A story doesn’t happen to nobody. Or to everybody. If you can take a character out and replace that character with another character, then you probably don't know enough about that first character. Keep digging. The lead characters must be unique and appropriate to the story.

4. Books are like out of body experiences for your audience. When you create the story and characters, you are giving readers a variety of sensory perceptions to pull them into the story or to create a sense of empathy between them and the characters. Don’t be stingy, give the reader everything you’ve got.

5. Paranormal material is interesting as long as it's relevant to the story. Don’t toss in a werewolf or dragon just to make the story a paranormal. Do yourself and your readers a favor and spend a little time thinking about the paranormal rules in your world.

6. Chances are somebody's already thought of it. In the world of paranormal romance, there are a lot of crazy, oddball ideas. That means the ones you come up with have a good chance they’ve been used already. Accept this, and understand that it is your unique take on that concept that will freshen it and keep it relevant. There have been a million werewolf or vampire stories already told, but they haven't been done your way, and that's what makes it interesting.

7. For the romance - Never shut down the playground. Your imagination must always be at work on some level. Romance is not about following a recipe, it is about emotions. About bringing those emotions to the front and showing them in a new way.

8. Expect some explosions or deadfalls. Paranormal Romance fiction is about winging it, sometimes. About trying new things and doing odd things to familiar ideas. Some of those odd things will make those familiar ideas act awkward, feel vulnerable, and not want to call you the next morning. But that’s okay. If you're not risking something, then you're not in the running for the big payoffs, either.

Since Heartstone isn't available yet, I'd like to offer one of your readers a copy of Wild Blue Under by Judi Fennell. To enter the drawing, please leave a comment here AND send me an email (lyndak.scott @

gmail.com no spaces) with Wild Blue in the subject line and your address in the body. You have until Wednesday to email me. That evening I'll put all the names in a box and have my fluffy buddy, Wookie, pull the winning name. Oh, you can see a picture of Wookie on my myspace site :-)

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