It doesn’t matter whether they meet across a crowded room or deep in the swamps of the Louisiana Bayou, when a man looks at a woman and growls the word “MINE” you automatically know you’re in the land of paranormal romance. Now that word “MINE”, you know the one where the hero proclaims to the heroine "YOU BELONG TO ME", is filled with the absolute knowledge and belief that this is the one woman in the world for him. And an author walks a fine line when she has her hero use it. It can be an earth shattering sigh worthy moment for a reader or it can be inexcusably corny. So how does an author go from making us gag to making us swoon?
Let’s face it, in real life; ‘ownership’ of another person is not terribly romantic. BUT, in a romance novel, particularly a paranormal romance, the rules are different. What would be romantic for a couple of shapeshifters would not necessarily play well if the heroine were a party planner and the hero a baseball player. I’m just saying... When your hero is a shapeshifter half his psyche is based on the laws of the jungle and his animal instinct. The law of the jungle has a specific and unchanging hierarchy and it’s all about the survival of the fittest. The alpha is in charge and always leads because he can defend and protect what is his. I’ll repeat that – what is his. And with all alpha heroes in a romance novel, one of his primary duties is to protect, defend and care for his mate. The paranormal romance allows us to have both the sophisticated urbane alpha man combined with the wild, raw, dominant animalistic qualities of an alpha animal. His ability to shift is unique onto itself, but the combination of his human understanding and his animal sensibilities make for a formidable, cunning, intelligent and unique hero. But I digress, the question still remains how do you make ‘ownership’ sexy and romantic instead of corny and offensive?
Savage Nature , Christine Feehan’s 5th book in her Leopard Series, gives us a great example of a romance between shapeshifters that gets it right. The hero, Donavan Drake, has just the right blend of alpha man and alpha animal. He’s smart, loyal, charismatic, dominant and in control of his leopard. He’s the right combination of 21st century man and jungle predator and that is one heady combination. What makes him especially wonderful is that when he meets the heroine Saria Boudreaux, he immediately knows she’s his mate; but he also recognizes that she is a unique individual who he cannot tame or suppress or own. Rather she’s a woman who can be his life partner and will stand side by side with him to face the world. And when claiming your mate turns from ownership to partnership is when MINE becomes swoon worthy and not gag worthy.
Savage Nature is a combination of mystery, thriller and paranormal romance. It has action taking place in the swamps of the Louisiana Bayou. A heroine who is totally independent, creative and intelligent with just a dash of naiveté. A hero who is both dominant and gentle. A cast of characters that I’m looking forward to hearing more about. And there are several exciting mysteries that reveal the nature of these leopard shapeshifters. It also has the exact right mixture of animal nature and human nature making Saria and Drake interesting, challenging and romantic.
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