My
readers often ask me, “Why ghosts in your contemporary romance?
Where do you get your ideas?” The answer is simple: I love both
genres.
Contemporary
romance, with its high emotional stakes, present-day, real life
settings, and steamy sex scenes, draws me in and keeps me turning the
pages. I also love ghost stories, with all the thrills and chills of
a true gothic. Trouble is, there aren’t many gothic novels set in
present day. Most of them fall into the historical category, and take
place in the past.
So
what better way to express my love of both genres? Write books
embracing both.
What
exactly is “New Gothic”? Okay, I’ll admit it—I invented the
term, mostly because contemporary romance with paranormal elements
was too long. Plus, nowadays the term “paranormal” in genre
fiction is more often related to vampires, zombies, and shape
shifters than plain old, garden-variety ghosts. Not that my ghosts
are boring. Not by any stretch.
Where
do I get my inspirations? That’s the easy part. I’m a sucker for
old buildings: centuries-old libraries, crumbling hotels, abandoned
asylums. And graveyards—I’m addicted to them. There’s actually
a name for that: taphophilia. I started exploring old graveyards way
back in my first year of college, when I took a photography course. I
created an entire portfolio of black-and-white photos of cemeteries,
playing with the light, bare-branched trees, and hovering birds.
Unfortunately, that was 40 years ago. Sadly, I no longer have any of
those pictures.
I
suppose the question that arises now is: why? What draws me to these
places? It’s hard to explain, but they speak to me. I get vibes
from every one I visit, sometimes positive, sometimes very negative.
But the vibes incite ideas, characters, situations, stories. The next
thing I know, I’m at my keyboard tapping away.
In
my preparation for writing Phantom Traces, I visited every old
library within a 50-mile radius of my home. I live in New England, so
that took me to some very old buildings indeed, including the one in
Salem, Massachusetts. And so the setting for my ghostly romance, the
Harvey Library, was born from bits and pieces of all of these
magical, mysterious places.
Since
then I have sketched out several other settings for New Gothic
romances, including an abandoned hotel and two defunct asylums. For
me, the research is half the fun.
So are you one of those readers who loves romance, but also loves the
paranormal? A really chilling ghost story? Mysteries? Magic? I invite
you to share with me, in your comments, your favorite elements of
these genres. Your input will help me to better construct my next New
Gothic Romance. If you comment and sign up for my newsletter here
http://blog.clairegem.com, on
January 15, I will choose one lucky participant to receive a free
Kindle copy of Phantom Traces.
~~~
Claire Gem turns
the paranormal genre on its ear by combining the elements of gothic
horror, mystery/thriller, and contemporary romance into a genre she
calls New Gothic.
Claire
loves ghost stories, and has done her homework when it comes to
exploring the world of paranormal phenomena. She holds her
certificate in Parapsychology from Duke University's Rhine Institute
of Paranormal Studies.
Although she
most definitely believes in ghosts, Claire doesn't suffer from
nightmares. They are simply midnight musings for her next gothic
novel.
Claire Gem’s
debut New Gothic romance, Phantom Traces, is available in
ebook, paperback, and audiobook here: http://amzn.to/1P8akBy
Read about Claire’s upcoming New Gothic romances here:
www.clairegem.com
Thank you for hosting me, Clare! I invite all your visitors to share their thoughts on my take of New Gothic romance. Those who sign up for my newsletter may win a free Kindle copy of Phantom Traces!
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