As an independent author I spend a lot of time in forums online discussing books. Not to promote my own work, mind you, but just to see what people are saying about Romance. I like to know what readers like and don't like, I like to see what draws them in and what turns them off. Of course, you can't please everybody but I still like to know! =)
One area that tends to put me on edge is any forum where Interracial or Multicultural Romance is being discussed. I first went into these discussions thinking that I was going to be involved in conversations about uplifting mixed relationships and their beauty. Yet sometimes I come across discussions that make me a bit sad. I find many people saying things like 'You read and write what you know'. The assumption is that if the heroine in the book doesn't look like you, you can't identify with them, therefore you are less likely to read the book. This often turns into a racial debate that I'd rather not expand upon here.
I have been reading Romance since I was a teen, and have read heroes and heroines of every color. Until recently it never even occurred to me that someone might shun an awesome book just because they can't identify with what's on the cover. As I tend not to write within the lines of stereotypes, I wonder how anyone would know the race of my character if I did not describe them? Being a woman, I tend to identify with the heroine of the book because she is a WOMAN. If her skin is light and her eyes are blue, well then that's just what she looks like isn't it? If she looks like me, and her skin is brown, well then that's just what she looks like isn't it?
I like to think that most of us read Romance for the stories. We read it for that first glance, that first kiss, or that first touch. We read it for that very first heart-pounding love scene where the heroine finally submits and the hero has his way. We read it to watch the good guys conquer. We read it for the happily ever after.
The characters in my Paranormal Romance series 'Angels Among Us' are couples made of different races. In fact, their relationships are even more diverse because they involve both angels and humans! This makes things even more interesting, I think, when it comes to bringing two souls together.
As I wrote the first two books in the series, I poured a little of myself into each character. Shayla, from book 1 is strong and determined. After a fatal accident leaves her on the edge of death she comes off of the ropes swinging, fighting for her light. The heroine in book 2, Sarah is dedicated and steadfast. She is also often conflicted between what is expected of her and what her heart demands. In this way both of these women are a part of me, and I a part of them.
I hope that any person that reads my books walks away with that feeling of satisfaction that all good love stories bring. I hope they would see the people for who they are and not what they look like. I hope they would see themselves, in the same way that I do.
Any random commenter on this post will win 1 ebook copy of 'Fallen', the first book in my Paranormal series 'Angels Among Us'
About Book 1: In a world full of the sick and dying, the hurting and desperate, and those lost in darkness, angels dwell. An angel of healing, Amir has spent centuries performing miracles for people hovering at the very edge of death.
A professional ballerina, Shayla lives her life to dance. Abandoned by her family, she is alone in the world yet determined to pursue her dream. When a car accident leaves Shayla in critical condition and in danger of never dancing again, it seems that all hope is lost.
Amir enters Shayla’s life intending to heal her, but when he sees her laying in her hospital bed fighting for her life, something unfamiliar resounds within him. A stranger to desire and love, Amir is drawn to Shayla like a moth to a flame despite the fact that the rules of heaven forbid angels to engage in romantic relationships with mortals. Should he give in to temptation he will become one of the “Fallen”, demons cursed to the depths of hell for eternity.
As his desire for Shayla rises to fever pitch, Amir will face the choice between love and damnation, or loneliness and divinity. Will an angel who has roamed the earth alone for centuries choose to continue on the path of righteousness, or will he fall captive to his burning desires and be forever damned?
About Book 2: In a world full of the sick and dying, the hurting and desperate, and those lost in darkness, angels dwell. Messenger angel Sarah is focused, dedicated to the cause of heaven in the war against hell. For centuries she has watched other angels succumb to temptation and break the rules governing relationships between angels and humans. Sarah has vowed to never become one of the ‘Fallen’ angels, now demons cursed to wander the depths of hell for eternity. She knows that she is stronger than the others, incapable of emotional attachment and the feelings of love and desire that can be so dangerous to her kind.
Jackson Bennett is alone in the world, and he prefers it that way. The former Army sergeant has seen more death than any human ought to experience in one lifetime. Even his dreams are haunted by the faces of those who have lost their lives because of him. He feels lost, purposeless, until an encounter with an angel reveals the secret purpose that he was made for. Born of a superior race of humans, Jackson learns of a special assignment. Should he accept, he will become an important part of world that exists between heaven, hell, and earth. After all that he has been through, Jackson doesn’t know if he’s ready to take on such a heavy responsibility; what he does know is that he could lose himself in the eyes of Sarah, the intriguing angel assigned to him. She is the only person who seems to understand the darkness and pain that have enveloped his heart; she is the only person capable of driving them away.
In a battle between love or loneliness, divinity or damnation, Sarah’s choice once seemed easy. What she finds is that the black and white lines that once defined her world are now impossibly blurred and gray. What she finds is that she may not be not quite as strong as she thought.
Excerpt from Book 1 (Fallen)
The sun blazed hotly overhead as Amir walked among the clouds, his wings outstretched. He spread his arms wide, basking in the warmth of the sun on his bare skin. He held one hand up to shield his eyes and squinted at the figure moving through the billowy white clouds toward him.
It was Shayla, he realized, walking slowly toward him. The sun kissed her hair, igniting it with shades of brown and gold; it hung loosely around her shoulders. Her eyes were fixated on his as she walked, slowly, seductively, toward him.
The sun kissed her gleaming brown skin, and as Amir’s eyes roamed from her head down to her feet, he realized that she was completely naked. He couldn’t tear his gaze away from round breasts and swaying hips as she came near.
When the distance between them was gone, he reached out and pulled her into his arms, pressing his open mouth to hers as he’d wanted to so many times. Her flesh was warm and pliant in his hands as he touched her, exploring every inch as he’d been longing to do. Her fingers threaded through his hair as she kissed him back, gifting him with the velvet rasp of her tongue against his.
In an instant she was under him, stretched out on the white cloud, smiling up at him invitingly. The intensity of the sun’s heat was increasing by the second; beads of sweat broke out over his forehead as he lowered his body over hers.
With every touch of his hand or mouth on her body, the heat increased; something in the back of his mind was screaming at him to stop, but he could not. Her skin tasted like heaven, and the soft, quivering flesh beneath his hands was just begging to be touched. He looked down, and his eyes locked with hers just before he flexed his hips forward to join his body with hers. In the exact moment that he buried himself inside of her, his wings burst into flames.
Neither of them noticed the rapidly spreading fire that was incinerating his wings, and swiftly spreading down to his back. So caught up were they in the intoxicating sensations humming through their bodies, that they barely noticed that the flames had consumed them both.
The heat was almost unbearable now, and Amir felt his skin burning slowly, but still he couldn’t stop. Shayla moaned and thrashed wildly beneath him, caught up in both the pleasure of his loving and the pain of the flames licking at them both. They clung to each other as the cloud beneath them opened up. His wings gone, Amir could do nothing but cling to Shayla as they plummeted from the sky toward the cold, hard earth. Just as they were about to hit the ground, a large hole opened up in the pavement. More flames licking up from the hole enveloped them both as they fell through the open pit and into the very bowels of the earth…
Amir flew into a sitting position on the bed, fighting against the covers for release. He pressed his hand to his heaving chest and waited for his heartbeat to slow before he tried to leave the bed. Every muscle in his body was tense and tight; he could feel the rapid beat of his pulse thrumming through his body all the way to his fingertips.
He glanced at the clock on the wall and sighed; only thirty minutes until he had to be at Shayla’s for dinner. He went into the bathroom and splashed cold water over his face, allowing it to drip over his neck and shoulders, soaking through his plain white-t-shirt.
The dream had been so vivid he could have sworn it had really happened. He glanced down and sucked in a surprised breath. He was aroused, hard as stone. “Well that’s new,” he murmured as he walked over to the shower. Angels were certainly able to feel every emotion humans could. They even had free will like humans, but were held to a much higher standard. His focus on his calling as a healer had blocked out all else for the three hundred years he had been on earth. He had never before been plagued by desire.
He had admired the beauty of many women, angel and human alike. They were Father’s most beautiful creation, and so he couldn’t help but appreciate their loveliness. But appreciation and desire were two different things, and Amir found desire had ten times the impact.
He wasn’t even sure he should go to Shayla’s for dinner. He wasn’t sure he should be seeing her at all. It had been weeks and still no word from Sarah on an assignment, leaving him with nothing to occupy his time. He hated to admit that Sarah had been right. He was dancing on the line, and if his dream meant anything it was that he was but a breath away from teetering over the edge.
For a moment he considered not going. He thought about locking himself away in his apartment until he heard from Sarah about a new assignment or until he had purged himself of all desire and want. But the thought of Shayla, angry and maybe even saddened by his not showing up weighed heavily on his conscious.
Tonight would be the last night, he told himself. He would go there, have dinner, and tell her they couldn’t see each other anymore. He would be as honest as he could without telling her everything. Then he would walk out of her life and try his hardest not to look back.
He slid open the glass door to the walk-in shower and turned the knob for hot water. Then, he changed his mind and switched it off before reaching for the other knob. “Cold,” he muttered as he pulled his clothing off and tossed it aside. “Definitely cold.”
****
About the Author:
I'm Elise, a lover of all things romance. I picked up my first romance novel when I was in high school and have been reading and writing it ever since.
I love the world of historicals starring feisty heroines. I love dark paranormals featuring brooding other-worldly heroes. I love writing stories about love conquering all. I love writing characters that people can fall in love with.
I'm a stay-at-home wife and mother of two, and when I'm not reading, writing, or caring for my family, I'm in the kitchen whipping up fun recipes or singing my heart out to the radio!
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