Linda Conrad | What Do You Love to Hate?

A witch appears in my newest trilogy, The Safekeepers, for Silhouette Romantic Suspense.  In fact, she’s a black witch who curses the Ryan family. Several white witches who do good deeds are in all three books too, but the witches don’t take up the entire plot.  I’ve also written about psychics, mediums, and Native American supernatural beliefs.  My editor and I call that light paranormal elements.

Not long ago I was wondering if light paranormal was as popular with readers as dark.  Oh, I already knew about the popularity of those sensual dark vampire and werewolf stories.  Or at least I thought I did.  I happened to ask a readers group and my own newsletter subscribers what they thought.  Boy, did I get an earful!

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“…straight paranormal is currently being overdone.”  “Vamps are sooo over.”  “I don’t care for vampire and the like in books.” “I’m a big paranormal fan who is tired of the vampires.”  And these are the nice replies!

But at the same time as people complain about vampire books, one of the best-selling series currently is the Twilight series by Stephanie Myer.  And please don’t tell Sherilyn Kenyon that vampires are out.  She’ll laugh all the way to the bank.   So is this a case of people secretly loving what they claim to hate?

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Jennifer Lewis | Characters you love to hate

I like to blame it on the popularity of evening soap operas during my formative years, but I just adore villainous but intriguing characters. Texas Oil baron J.R. Ewing from Dallas was one of the most hated characters on television—but he was also the reason millions of people tuned in religiously for more than ten years. His cold-blooded, scheming character was originally supposed to be a small part, but he was such a hit with viewers that it wasn’t long before the whole show revolved around him. Anyone alive at the time will surely remember the angst and intrigue over the burning question: Who shot J.R.?

I’ve always wanted to write one of these odious yet absorbing characters, and with my new Hardcastle Progeny series, I finally have. The three book series revolves around billionaire tycoon Tarrant Hardcastle and his attempts to find an heir for his glittering Manhattan retail empire—by tracking down the illegitimate sons he once scorned.

Tarrant is not a nice guy.

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