hpmallory.com - Urban Fantasy and Paranormal Romance Author Blog and Quote Archive

~Blog Archive July, 2008~

July 24, 2008: Jane Eyre

I thought it would be interesting to talk about one of my favorite Gothic Novels, Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Bronte. The BBC put out a fantastic version of Jane Eyre a few years ago. The book was published in 1847 and Charlotte used the pseudonym Currer Bell. It was acclaimed immediately. Rochester, the hero whom Jane falls in love with, is considered to be a Byronic hero--someone who is idealized but flawed like Lord Byron. The novel was partly autobiographical--Charlotte was a governess just as Jane is, but the majority of the book was fiction. The book deals with quite a few different subject matters--religion, morality, the rejection of social class and gender. Written during the Victorian age, Bronte really does a great job of breaking down Victorian sexist beliefs about women. It's really a novel about a woman breaking out of the box society would see her adhere to.

July 22, 2008: The Monster

I thought it would be interesting to talk about the idea of the monster--whether that be the vampire, werewolf, witch, warlock. Urban Fantasy and Paranormal Romance really take the theme of the monster and turn it on its head--usually making the monsters into the good guys or if not good, they have some characteristic about them that's appealing. The word "monster" comes from the Latin "monstrum" which means "omen". The word monster refers to anything that is outside the norm and usually means that being is able to destroy humanity. Monsters are usually characterized as being grotesque, evil or sociopathic and uncaring. Interesting how so many novelists have taken this theme and turned it on its head!

July 21, 2008: Finished To Kill A Warlock

I just finished my second Urban Fantasy book (unrelated to the first) titled To Kill A Warlock. I finished it last week and sent it to my agent to see what her thoughts are. Very exciting! I have an outline and brainstorm on my third Urban Fantasy / Paranormal Romance book and I'm just waiting to hear what my agent thinks about those as well. The third book would be a ghost-related book. I don't want to give too much away but basically it would be a new take on a ghost-hunter type story. So, I'll have to see what Rachel, my agent, thinks about that!

July 16, 2008:
A little about the cartoons on this site

I thought it would be fun to talk about the various cartoons on this site. I really love the various cartoons and some have more to do with my books than others. The one on this page is Jolie and Rand from my book, Fire Burn and Cauldron Bubble, the story about a witch who can reanimate the dead. The picture on the Books page could also be Jolie because of the witches. My biography page cartoon is Dulcie and Knight, both characters from my second book, To Kill A Warlock. The contact page is Christa from Fire Burn. The photos page is Jolie and Sinjin, the vampire, also from Fire Burn. And the final image on the Just for Fun page isn't really anyone...yet!

July 15, 2008: More about fairies

I am very excited because I've just completed another chapter of my novel, To Kill A Warlock, which means I only have one chapter left to write! I've decided to start a book about ghosts after I finish the final chapter. Anyway, one of the characters in my soon-t0-be-completed novel is an elf and I thought it would be interesting to discuss what exactly an elf is. Elves do fall within the family of fairies although they are a bit different. Elves are creatures of Germanic mythology. They are considered to be fertility gods and both the men and women are known for possessing incredible beauty. They live in natural areas such as caves, wells and springs. They are considered to be immortal and have magical powers.

July 14, 2008: Visit to Jane Austen's

Yesterday, my husband and I voyaged to the county of Hampshire to go see Jane Austen's house in Chawton. It was a really great day. The house itself was a decent size but definitely not huge nor magnificent. I believe that Jane was not wealthy by any means and this house really reflected that. She lived there for eight years, during the latter part of her life (she died at 41). While she was there, she edited Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility and Northanger Abbey. She then wrote Emma, Mansfield Park and Persuasion. After our tour of the house, we went to Winchester and specifically, the Winchester Cathedral, where Jane is buried. It was a really lovely Cathedral and we had a wonderful day!

July 10, 2008: To Kill A Warlock

I thought I would write a little update about my book, To Kill A Warlock. It's the story about Dulcie O'Neil, a fairy who also happens to be a Regulator, or someone who monitors the creatures of the Netherworld to make sure they aren't breaking laws. Sort of like law enforcement. Anyway, she has to solve a murder of a warlock and along the way, she meets Knight Vander, who is tasked with solving the murder with her. I just finished writing chapter eighteen and now have about 4-5 chapters left! Exciting to see the light at the end of the tunnel!

July 8, 2008: Pixies

So, back to the discussion on different types of fairies, in honor of my work
in progress: To Kill A Warlock, let's discuss the pixie. Pixies are considered
to be located in Cornwall and Devon in England. I have been to both places and, unfortunately, was not blessed with a pixie sighting. Sigh. LOL. Pixies are
Celtic in origin. Pixies are believed to be helpful to humans, sometimes helping
needy widows and others with housework. It seems that, generally, pixies
are either unclothed or barely clothed. They're children of nature, what do
you want? LOL. Fairies seem to definitely be more mischievous or downright
mean than pixies. They are also said to be uncommonly beautiful.

July 7, 2008: Favorite Paranormal Romance Authors

I wrote a little bit about the differences between Urban Fantasy and
Paranormal Romance as genres and I also talked a bit about how I became
interested in this genre. I thought I might delve a bit more into that and
talk about my favorite Paranormal Romance authors and Urban Fantasy
authors. I would have to say that my absolute favorite Urban Fantasy author
at the moment is probably Laurell K. Hamilton and her Anita Blake series.
It's just really raw and fresh and she really started the genre of Urban Fantasy.
Anita is a necromancer, someone who can command zombies and bring them
back from the dead. She's definitely a hard-headed heroine. My second favorite Paranormal Romance author would have to be Charlaine Harris and her Sookie Stackhouse series, about a waitress in the South who can read minds. Sookies is definitely a spitfire but she's also pretty funny. I finished reading Jenna Black's
series about a demon exorcist, Morgan Kingsley, and that was fantastic too.
There are just so many fantastic Urban Fantasy books and authors, I want to
read them all...and plan to!

July 6, 2008: The Raven

I started off with discussing various famous works of literature in the horror
category and thought it would be fun to talk about "The Raven" by Edgar Allan
Poe. If you aren't familiar with it, the story is about a distraught lover, who
mourns the passing of his "Lenore" and a talking raven who visits him.
Basically, it's about the mourning lover's journey into insanity, brought on
by the Raven's constantly repeating: "Nevermore". Some of the allusions that
Poe uses are the raven itself, which was considered to be a "devil bird" and the
poem takes place in December, a month which was believed to be the most
active in terms of things that go bump in the night.
When the poem came out in 1849, it was widely popular and made Poe very
famous, although it didn't bring him much financial success. He actually earned
the nickname "The Raven". It's said that Poe created the poem after the death
of his mother or the long-suffering illness of his wife.

July 5, 2008: Why Paranormal Romance?

So, today I thought I'd break away from my usual topics to talk a bit about
why I choose to be an author of paranormal romance. As with most things,
I first started loving the genre of paranormal romance and urban fantasy
as a reader. I'm an avid reader and I started with historicals and then really got interested in the idea of the more imaginary side of life. Urban fantasy books
really grabbed my attention because the heroines were always strong but not
infallible. And, of course, the alpha males are always great too. LOL. After reading countless urban fantasy books and paranormal romances, I really found that I gravitated toward those that were series books and which were narrated in
the first person. I just felt like I could really get into the heroine's head in first
person. I guess I should preface this by saying that I always wanted to be a
writer--as a child and in high school. My college years sort of lapsed from the
writing road but after I found the urban fantasy genre, it renewed my interest
with gusto. So, now I've written one Urban fantasy book: Fire Burn and Cauldron Bubble. I'm working on my second, To Kill A Warlock. And, yes, I've even
penned chapter one of a new book involving ghosts. And, of course, I'm still
reading as many books in this genre as I can find.

July 4, 2008: Happy Fourth of July!

In honor of the 4th of July, I thought it would be fun to talk about
Revolutionary War ghosts! Well, that was my intention but when I did a
search, I found a lot more than just revolutionary ghosts so I figured I'd
write about them all. The more the merrier! Apparently, Virginia seems
to be the most haunted state. So, here are some ghostly sites for you and
some equally ghostly histories:
Dumfries, VA: Weems-Botts Museum is apparently haunted by a ghost
who throws books and turns lights on and off. And just an interesting note:
a former resident was the Rev. Mason Locke Weems, who made up the story
of George Washington and the cherry tree. Benjamin Botts, the attorney who
defended Aaron Burr had his law office there.
Colonial Williamsburg, VA: some believe the George Wythe House is haunted
by a woman named Lady Ann. After attending a gala, Lady Ann became angry
and she left in such a hurry, that her slipper broke. Apparently, you can still hear
her hobbling up the staircase in her one good slipper.
Charles City, VA: It's reported that Shirley Plantation is haunted by Aunt Pratt,
who was angry about the placement of her portrait and is still lurking the premises.
Charlottesville, VA: People at the home of Thomas Jefferson, Monticello, have
often heard him whistling on the grounds. He often whistled when surveying his property. Spooky!

July 3, 2008: More about fairies

So, I thought I would go back to talking about the various different types
of fairies, in honor of my book, To Kill A Warlock. I've talked about the
Banshee which I always thought of as a ghost (which it basically is) but
apparently, other people consider it to be part of the fairy family. I've also
talked about the goblin so today's fairy will be the gnome. Gnomes, also part
of the fairy realm, are known for their small stature, their long beards, and
their pointed hats. Many a gnome can be spotted on people's front
yards...okay, just kidding on that one. Gnomes live in areas close to the
Earth and are considered to be much more friendly than the goblin that we
discussed earlier. I don't have any gnomes in any of my books yet so maybe
I should add one. And that fun little garden gnome I was talking about
earlier? Garden gnomes (the statues) were started in Germany and there
are 25 million garden gnomes in Germany today. When I was in Germany,
I think I saw about a thousand of them. Those Germans certainly like
their garden gnomes!

July 2, 2008: Urban Fantasy And Paranormal Romance

So, what's the difference between Urban Fantasy and Paranormal
Romance, anyway? It seems like these terms can sometimes be used
interchangeably and many authors (like me) consider themselves to be
writers of both Paranormal Romance and Urban Fantasy. So, I thought it would
be interesting to find out exactly what the difference is between the two.
Keri Arthur, a popular Urban Fantasy author, wrote about this maybe
a year ago. Here is what she said: The main difference is that urban fantasy
is firmly rooted in the fantasy field and paranormal romance is firmly
rooted in romance. A paranormal romance is basically the same as a
traditional romance only it has paranormal elements. Urban fantasy is
fantasy that is set in an urban environment, usually a city. In urban
fantasy, unlike paranormal romance, the romance doesn't have to be the
foremost theme. It can be and is usually a sub theme but the action of the
fantasy is really what drives an urban fantasy. Do I think I'm more urban
fantasy or paranormal romance? Hmm, I think probably more urban
fantasy because my books tend to definitely have romantic elements
but I wouldn't say the romance is the crux of the stories.

July 1, 2008: Hades

In the current book I'm working on, To Kill A Warlock, one of the main characters,
Knight, was created from the fires of Hades. He's a creature I
just made up--not a vampire, werewolf, etc. So, I thought it would be interesting to
find out more about Hades. Here you go: Hades is from the ancient Greek and refers
to the Underworld, or the land of the dead. In
Greek mythology, Hades is the God of the Underworld and brother to Zeus and
Poseidon. In Roman mythology, Hades is known as Pluto and the three headed dog, Cerberus, is associated with him. In Christianity, Hades is the abode of the dead,
where the dead await judgement day. So, there's some Greek and Roman
mythology for you!





Home / Books / Biography / Contact / Photos / Links

	Return to Blog & Quote Archive
		~Blog Archive July, 2008~ July 24, 2008: Jane Eyre I thought it would be interesting to talk about one of my favorite Gothic Novels, Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Bronte. The BBC put out a fantastic version of Jane Eyre a few years ago. The book was published in 1847 and Charlotte used the pseudonym Currer Bell. It was acclaimed immediately. Rochester, the hero whom Jane falls in love with, is considered to be a Byronic hero--someone who is idealized but flawed like Lord Byron. The novel was partly autobiographical--Charlotte was a governess just as Jane is, but the majority of the book was fiction. The book deals with quite a few different subject matters--religion, morality, the rejection of social class and gender. Written during the Victorian age, Bronte really does a great job of breaking down Victorian sexist beliefs about women. It's really a novel about a woman breaking out of the box society would see her adhere to. July 22, 2008: The Monster I thought it would be interesting to talk about the idea of the monster--whether that be the vampire, werewolf, witch, warlock. Urban Fantasy and Paranormal Romance really take the theme of the monster and turn it on its head--usually making the monsters into the good guys or if not good, they have some characteristic about them that's appealing. The word "monster" comes from the Latin "monstrum" which means "omen". The word monster refers to anything that is outside the norm and usually means that being is able to destroy humanity. Monsters are usually characterized as being grotesque, evil or sociopathic and uncaring. Interesting how so many novelists have taken this theme and turned it on its head! July 21, 2008: Finished To Kill A Warlock I just finished my second Urban Fantasy book (unrelated to the first) titled To Kill A Warlock. I finished it last week and sent it to my agent to see what her thoughts are. Very exciting! I have an outline and brainstorm on my third Urban Fantasy / Paranormal Romance book and I'm just waiting to hear what my agent thinks about those as well. The third book would be a ghost-related book. I don't want to give too much away but basically it would be a new take on a ghost-hunter type story. So, I'll have to see what Rachel, my agent, thinks about that! July 16, 2008: A little about the cartoons on this site I thought it would be fun to talk about the various cartoons on this site. I really love the various cartoons and some have more to do with my books than others. The one on this page is Jolie and Rand from my book, Fire Burn and Cauldron Bubble, the story about a witch who can reanimate the dead. The picture on the Books page could also be Jolie because of the witches. My biography page cartoon is Dulcie and Knight, both characters from my second book, To Kill A Warlock. The contact page is Christa from Fire Burn. The photos page is Jolie and Sinjin, the vampire, also from Fire Burn. And the final image on the Just for Fun page isn't really anyone...yet! July 15, 2008: More about fairies I am very excited because I've just completed another chapter of my novel, To Kill A Warlock, which means I only have one chapter left to write! I've decided to start a book about ghosts after I finish the final chapter. Anyway, one of the characters in my soon-t0-be-completed novel is an elf and I thought it would be interesting to discuss what exactly an elf is. Elves do fall within the family of fairies although they are a bit different. Elves are creatures of Germanic mythology. They are considered to be fertility gods and both the men and women are known for possessing incredible beauty. They live in natural areas such as caves, wells and springs. They are considered to be immortal and have magical powers. July 14, 2008: Visit to Jane Austen's Yesterday, my husband and I voyaged to the county of Hampshire to go see Jane Austen's house in Chawton. It was a really great day. The house itself was a decent size but definitely not huge nor magnificent. I believe that Jane was not wealthy by any means and this house really reflected that. She lived there for eight years, during the latter part of her life (she died at 41). While she was there, she edited Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility and Northanger Abbey. She then wrote Emma, Mansfield Park and Persuasion. After our tour of the house, we went to Winchester and specifically, the Winchester Cathedral, where Jane is buried. It was a really lovely Cathedral and we had a wonderful day! July 10, 2008: To Kill A Warlock I thought I would write a little update about my book, To Kill A Warlock. It's the story about Dulcie O'Neil, a fairy who also happens to be a Regulator, or someone who monitors the creatures of the Netherworld to make sure they aren't breaking laws. Sort of like law enforcement. Anyway, she has to solve a murder of a warlock and along the way, she meets Knight Vander, who is tasked with solving the murder with her. I just finished writing chapter eighteen and now have about 4-5 chapters left! Exciting to see the light at the end of the tunnel! July 8, 2008: Pixies So, back to the discussion on different types of fairies, in honor of my work in progress: To Kill A Warlock, let's discuss the pixie. Pixies are considered to be located in Cornwall and Devon in England. I have been to both places and, unfortunately, was not blessed with a pixie sighting. Sigh. LOL. Pixies are Celtic in origin. Pixies are believed to be helpful to humans, sometimes helping needy widows and others with housework. It seems that, generally, pixies are either unclothed or barely clothed. They're children of nature, what do you want? LOL. Fairies seem to definitely be more mischievous or downright mean than pixies. They are also said to be uncommonly beautiful. July 7, 2008: Favorite Paranormal Romance Authors I wrote a little bit about the differences between Urban Fantasy and Paranormal Romance as genres and I also talked a bit about how I became interested in this genre. I thought I might delve a bit more into that and talk about my favorite Paranormal Romance authors and Urban Fantasy authors. I would have to say that my absolute favorite Urban Fantasy author at the moment is probably Laurell K. Hamilton and her Anita Blake series. It's just really raw and fresh and she really started the genre of Urban Fantasy. Anita is a necromancer, someone who can command zombies and bring them back from the dead. She's definitely a hard-headed heroine. My second favorite Paranormal Romance author would have to be Charlaine Harris and her Sookie Stackhouse series, about a waitress in the South who can read minds. Sookies is definitely a spitfire but she's also pretty funny. I finished reading Jenna Black's series about a demon exorcist, Morgan Kingsley, and that was fantastic too. There are just so many fantastic Urban Fantasy books and authors, I want to read them all...and plan to! July 6, 2008: The Raven I started off with discussing various famous works of literature in the horror category and thought it would be fun to talk about "The Raven" by Edgar Allan Poe. If you aren't familiar with it, the story is about a distraught lover, who mourns the passing of his "Lenore" and a talking raven who visits him. Basically, it's about the mourning lover's journey into insanity, brought on by the Raven's constantly repeating: "Nevermore". Some of the allusions that Poe uses are the raven itself, which was considered to be a "devil bird" and the poem takes place in December, a month which was believed to be the most active in terms of things that go bump in the night. When the poem came out in 1849, it was widely popular and made Poe very famous, although it didn't bring him much financial success. He actually earned the nickname "The Raven". It's said that Poe created the poem after the death of his mother or the long-suffering illness of his wife. July 5, 2008: Why Paranormal Romance? So, today I thought I'd break away from my usual topics to talk a bit about why I choose to be an author of paranormal romance. As with most things, I first started loving the genre of paranormal romance and urban fantasy as a reader. I'm an avid reader and I started with historicals and then really got interested in the idea of the more imaginary side of life. Urban fantasy books really grabbed my attention because the heroines were always strong but not infallible. And, of course, the alpha males are always great too. LOL. After reading countless urban fantasy books and paranormal romances, I really found that I gravitated toward those that were series books and which were narrated in the first person. I just felt like I could really get into the heroine's head in first person. I guess I should preface this by saying that I always wanted to be a writer--as a child and in high school. My college years sort of lapsed from the writing road but after I found the urban fantasy genre, it renewed my interest with gusto. So, now I've written one Urban fantasy book: Fire Burn and Cauldron Bubble. I'm working on my second, To Kill A Warlock. And, yes, I've even penned chapter one of a new book involving ghosts. And, of course, I'm still reading as many books in this genre as I can find. July 4, 2008: Happy Fourth of July! In honor of the 4th of July, I thought it would be fun to talk about Revolutionary War ghosts! Well, that was my intention but when I did a search, I found a lot more than just revolutionary ghosts so I figured I'd write about them all. The more the merrier! Apparently, Virginia seems to be the most haunted state. So, here are some ghostly sites for you and some equally ghostly histories: Dumfries, VA: Weems-Botts Museum is apparently haunted by a ghost who throws books and turns lights on and off. And just an interesting note: a former resident was the Rev. Mason Locke Weems, who made up the story of George Washington and the cherry tree. Benjamin Botts, the attorney who defended Aaron Burr had his law office there. Colonial Williamsburg, VA: some believe the George Wythe House is haunted by a woman named Lady Ann. After attending a gala, Lady Ann became angry and she left in such a hurry, that her slipper broke. Apparently, you can still hear her hobbling up the staircase in her one good slipper. Charles City, VA: It's reported that Shirley Plantation is haunted by Aunt Pratt, who was angry about the placement of her portrait and is still lurking the premises. Charlottesville, VA: People at the home of Thomas Jefferson, Monticello, have often heard him whistling on the grounds. He often whistled when surveying his property. Spooky! July 3, 2008: More about fairies So, I thought I would go back to talking about the various different types of fairies, in honor of my book, To Kill A Warlock. I've talked about the Banshee which I always thought of as a ghost (which it basically is) but apparently, other people consider it to be part of the fairy family. I've also talked about the goblin so today's fairy will be the gnome. Gnomes, also part of the fairy realm, are known for their small stature, their long beards, and their pointed hats. Many a gnome can be spotted on people's front yards...okay, just kidding on that one. Gnomes live in areas close to the Earth and are considered to be much more friendly than the goblin that we discussed earlier. I don't have any gnomes in any of my books yet so maybe I should add one. And that fun little garden gnome I was talking about earlier? Garden gnomes (the statues) were started in Germany and there are 25 million garden gnomes in Germany today. When I was in Germany, I think I saw about a thousand of them. Those Germans certainly like their garden gnomes! July 2, 2008: Urban Fantasy And Paranormal Romance So, what's the difference between Urban Fantasy and Paranormal Romance, anyway? It seems like these terms can sometimes be used interchangeably and many authors (like me) consider themselves to be writers of both Paranormal Romance and Urban Fantasy. So, I thought it would be interesting to find out exactly what the difference is between the two. Keri Arthur, a popular Urban Fantasy author, wrote about this maybe a year ago. Here is what she said: The main difference is that urban fantasy is firmly rooted in the fantasy field and paranormal romance is firmly rooted in romance. A paranormal romance is basically the same as a traditional romance only it has paranormal elements. Urban fantasy is fantasy that is set in an urban environment, usually a city. In urban fantasy, unlike paranormal romance, the romance doesn't have to be the foremost theme. It can be and is usually a sub theme but the action of the fantasy is really what drives an urban fantasy. Do I think I'm more urban fantasy or paranormal romance? Hmm, I think probably more urban fantasy because my books tend to definitely have romantic elements but I wouldn't say the romance is the crux of the stories. July 1, 2008: Hades In the current book I'm working on, To Kill A Warlock, one of the main characters, Knight, was created from the fires of Hades. He's a creature I just made up--not a vampire, werewolf, etc. So, I thought it would be interesting to find out more about Hades. Here you go: Hades is from the ancient Greek and refers to the Underworld, or the land of the dead. In Greek mythology, Hades is the God of the Underworld and brother to Zeus and Poseidon. In Roman mythology, Hades is known as Pluto and the three headed dog, Cerberus, is associated with him. In Christianity, Hades is the abode of the dead, where the dead await judgement day. So, there's some Greek and Roman mythology for you!
	Return to Blog & Quote Archive


	Home / Books / Biography / Contact / Photos / Links / Blog Archive