The Writer's Voice

Young Adult Paranormal Romance- 

What's up with that?

I wrote an article not too long ago on why I chose to write about were-wolves. Out of all the other paranormal, supernatural species, I chose were-wolves. I wrote it because I was asked that question a lot. Today I had a lady who I was talking with about my books ask me why do I write YA Paranormal Romance books. I smiled and said, "I'm glad you asked". What did I tell her? Let me share it with you.

            First and foremost I love the supernatural and paranormal. It's interesting, it's the unknown. The things that go bump in the night and things that are just beyond fantastical are exciting to me. I like being able to step into a world that has nothing to do with the one I live in. Don't get me wrong, I love my life. God has blessed me immensely, but he also gave us imagination and how fun it is to use it. To be able to create a world that could never exist. But if it could anything I imagine could be a part of that world. Vampires, Were-Wolves, Fae, Djinn, Mermaids, Giants, Witches, Wizards on and on we could go. The characters are only part of the paranormal world. The atmosphere, the lay of the land, the vegetation, the water all of these things can be altered, built on in the paranormal realm.

            Second I love the young adult genre' because these books still for the most part leave something to the imagination. There is an innocence about them that makes them even more appealing. The characters, though at times have been dealt difficult cards or go through difficult things in the story, aren't jaded. Their relationships as intense but pure. The love that can be built into them is strong and real and something we all have longed for at one time in our lives. There is still a level of sensuality to the relationships but it's done with class and kept sacred.  I think that young adult characters are fun to write because they are still maturing and growing into who they will be.

            Lastly, the romance. Why not just YA Paranormal? Well, like any little girl, or any teenage girl I too at one time wanted my knight in shining armor. God has blessed me with my hero and I've been blessed to be married to him for over 12 years now. There are ones out there that are still waiting for theirs, who still want to believe that unconditional love does exist. The truth about romance in real life- it's messy, it's hard, it's often times the first thing to go in a long term relationship. Romance is important, it's important to a relationship that is growing into something serious. A writer can take the YA romance genre' and help girls see that you shouldn't settle for something just because it's good. There should be a spark, something that you can't explain that starts in your toes and works its way up to the tips of your hair. Will a real life relationship be like in a book, no, we wouldn't read them if they were. But I feel like with the romance in my books I can help others see that you don't have to settle, you can choose to be selfless and love the other person through thick and thin. I can use it to show girls how they should be treated by a guy who truly cares for them. And I hope that I encourage them to take the physical aspect of the relationship very seriously. A relationship goes to a whole new place once that line is crossed. I don't try to push my beliefs on others through my books, but I do try to make it clear through the characters experiences how important it is to think about the consequences of physical intimacy.

            Now, did I really give that poor lady this long explanation…no. But I gave her a very condensed version. I really enjoy the genre' I write about. I love reading the other YAPR books by other indie authors. I think it's a really fun genre' and look forward to hopefully writing many more books to add to its already growing numbers.

~Quinn Loftis