Miranda Owen | The Strange and Exciting World of Paranormal Historical Romance

I love historical romance and I love romances with a paranormal theme. Nothing makes me happier than when an author successfully combines the two. I can't quite remember which paranormal historical romance I read first, but I do remember being captivated by the gothic Dorothy Daniels romances as a young girl with stories of mystery, seances, and ghosts. If you've never tried reading a paranormal historical before, I highly recommend them. The various authors writing them provide something for everybody – viscount vampires, beasts in ballrooms, psychics, time-traveling highlander hotties, tricky fae, and the wildly imaginative mechanical magic that is steampunk. These stories also encompass everything on the sexiness scale, from proper and sweet to explicit erotica.

One type of paranormal historical focuses on psychic phenomena and ghosts rather than the usual suspects such as vampires and werewolves. The Wherlocke series by Hannah Howell, the Killdaren series by Jennifer St. Giles, and the Order of the M.U.S.E. series by Mia Marlowe are all great examples of this kind of romance. I love these books for their gothic appeal and excellent blend of mystery and romance. The Jennifer St. Giles series about three sisters with unusual extrasensory talents is intriguing and the tall, dark broody heroes combined with the prophetic dreams, ghosts, and mind-reading make for a heady mix. Hannah Howell's Wherlocke series never ceases to amaze me – both because of the variety and strength of the psychic gifts the characters have, but because of the depth and creativity of the storytelling. Mia Marlowe's Order of the M.U.S.E. is a recent discovery for me but pulled me in right away. This series has characters who have scrying visions, the ability to leave the physical body, as well as characters who can control water and fire. The situations are very singular and I like the X-Men or Avengers feel of a strong team fighting evil.

A particular favorite series of mine is Erin McCarthy's Deadly Sins series. This is an example of how unique a paranormal historical romance can be. I'm sure Erin McCarthy probably wouldn't consider her series “paranormal historical” because each story is based in modern times. However, each story is also told partly in a setting from a long ago time period through diaries, letters, and journals – as well as recollections from main characters who have actually lived in different centuries. Each book strikes a slightly different tone for me, but each is equally fascinating. The first book in the series, MY IMMORTAL, is one I always recommend to horror fans and readers who might not necessarily be readers of romance. MY IMMORTAL has the kind of freak-out effect as The Exorcist and The Twilight Zone. There is romance, but the deliciously spooky demon and good versus evil elements will give you a good scare. I recently asked Erin McCarthy about the possibility of reissuing the three stories in this set. She said that she will be reissuing them soon, and that she plans on writing a new book in the series to hopefully be released at the end of 2016!

If you Google “steampunk” you'll be able to find a good definition. I admit that I didn't quite get it when it was first explained to me. After reading and enjoying quite a few books now in the sub-genre, I can say that you'll know it when you see it. If the paranormal historical you're reading has more mechanical magical gadgets than a Harry Potter film, you're probably reading a steampunk novel. If the characters and things have an abundance of clockwork-anything, rather than a clock just being a clock, you're probably reading a steampunk novel. Two of the best in this sub-genre are Kristen Callihan's Darkest London series, and Bec McMaster's London Steampunk series. Whenever I read one of the Darkest London books, I feel totally immersed in Kristen Callihan's world. Callihan does such a stellar job on the details that I get instant visuals. I love the intense and action-packed fairy-tale and comic book quality of the stories. The vampire hero in Bec McMaster's book KISS OF STEEL made me a fan right away. Blade is my favorite kind of hero – confident yet vulnerable, and sexy yet incredibly sweet. Bec McMaster puts a distinctive and different spin on the vampire mythology and marries it in such a surprising way to nineteenth century royal court politics.

Last but certainly not least, you have the regular, non-steampunk, vampires and werewolves. I have a favorite vampire as well as favorite shifter series that both feature highlanders – the MacDonell Brides series by Jen Holling and the Children of the Moon series by Lucy Monroe. The Jen Holling series has characters who are haunted by the living and the dead. I love Jen Holling's strong female characters and emotionally powerful story arc involving characters struggling and fighting back against relentless persecution. As a fan of Lucy Monroe's contemporary romances, I was delighted to find that she did a paranormal historical series about men and women who shift into wolves, dragons, birds, and other creatures. In the “Children of the Moon” series, Lucy Monroe takes the classic alpha male heroes she's known for and combines that with a passionate and sympathetic society of shifters.

Two of the first paranormal historical books I ever read, written by two of my favorite authors, are due for face-lifts in the near future. Jennifer Ashley's Nvengaria series focuses on logosh – shape-shifters who can take the form of an animal, demon, or human. The Nvengarians in this series are exotic, sensual, and make for good heroes. I'm especially happy that Jennifer Ashley plans on expanding the last story in the series, which originally appeared as a short story in an anthology because it was my favorite. Another favorite story is one I stumbled on by chance, but is now one of my all-time favorite books – MACKENZIE'S MAGIC by Debra Dier. MACKENZIE'S MAGIC is more than just a story about a time- traveling highlander. There is a “Freaky Friday” soul-swapping that happens. What I love about this is that Debra Dier injects enough doubt and leaves it up to the reader to decide if some time-traveling magic did happen, or whether everything is a result of psychological forces rather than magical ones. There are so many different directions this story could have gone in, and I fervently hope Debra Dier will one day write a sequel about one of the other characters.

Paranormal historical romance encompasses so many different elements, and cover so many different time periods. The talented authors who spin these stories have such different ideas about what a vampire is, or what a supernatural landscape should look like, that no two stories will be alike. Browsing through paranormal historical titles is like taking a trip to Willy Wonka's chocolate factory – strange, exciting, and totally worth it.

List of paranormal historicals:
- MY IMMORTAL PROTECTOR by Jen Holling
- MY DEVILISH SCOTSMAN by Jen Holling
- THE MAD, BAD DUKE by Jennifer Ashley
- MOONGLOW by Kristen Callihan
- THE TAMING OF THE WOLF by Lydia Dare
- THE SCARLETTI CURSE by Christine Feehan
- THE STRANGELY BEAUTIFUL TALE OF MISS PERCY PARKER by Leanna Renee Hieber
- THE VAMPIRE WHO LOVED ME by Teresa Medeiros
- MOON CRAVING by Lucy Monroe
- BLOOD FIRE by Sharon Page
- TAKEN BY THE NIGHT by Kathryn Smith
- RETURN TO ME by Julia Templeton
- THE DARK ONE by Ronda Thompson
- SACRAMENT by Susan Squires
- BESPELLING JANE AUSTEN by Mary Balogh, Susan Krinard, Colleen Gleason, Janet Mullany
- THE REST FALLS AWAY by Colleen Gleason
- MY LORD VAMPIRE by Alexandra Ivy
- LORD OF THE BEASTS by Susan Krinard
- SOULLESS by Gail Carriger
- ONE BITE PER NIGHT by Brooklyn Ann
- IF HE'S DARING by Hannah Howell
- BITTER SPIRITS by Jenn Bennett
- KISS OF STEEL by Bec McMaster
- THE LOST SOUL OF LORD BADEWYN by Mia Marlowe
- THE CLOCKWORK WOLF by Lynn Viehl
- FALLEN by Erin McCarthy
- DARKEST DREAMS by Jennifer St. Giles
- MACKENZIE'S MAGIC by Debra Dier
- THE RUBY GHOST by June Calvin
- VENICE VAMPYR by Tina Folsom
- TOUCH NOT THE CAT by Tracy Fobes
- THE FORBIDDEN CHAMBER by Ella Drake
- THE BEDEVILED BRIDE by Jerrica Knight-Catania
- GHOST OF MY DREAMS by Angie Ray
- A KIND OF MAGIC by Susan Sizemore
- THE RAVENCLIFF BRIDE by Dawn Thompson
- THE REINVENTED MISS BLUEBEARD by Minda Webber
- A GHOST OF A CHANCE by Casey Claybourne
- ONE HAUNTED EVENING by Jane Charles, Ava Stone, and Jerrica Knight- Catania