My latest release from Silhouette Nocturne, Familiar Stranger is out right now. It is book #1 in the multi-author Dark Enchantments series. It’s my first attempt at demons and the men who hunt them. I had a blast writing about Jack, the hero, who would rather tote around a huge gun and blast away at nasty demons than attempt a dance with a delicate woman. (But he does dance, and she’s not as delicate as he thinks.) And the heroine, Mersey Bane, learns that even a cocky demon-hunter can have a soft side (and can do more than dance, so much more).

I’m always labeled ‘the weird one’ in any group of friends I land in. What’s the deal with that? Just because I happen to write stories about demons and witches and vampires, why should that make me weird? I’m actually much more whitebread than any of them would desire to imagine, but I leave them their fantasies. The only other option is to be normal, and that just ain’t cool in my book.

So if the paranormal genre is weird, then weird is cool right now. In fact, weird is so hot you can’t walk down an aisle in a bookstore without a glimpse of it. There are vampires lurking on the top shelf, and witches lingering just around the corner. Werewolves and faeries perch upon the end caps, hoping to attract the reader’s eye with a twinkle of faery dust and a snarl of toothy grin.

I read a lot in the paranormal genre, and I rarely read a contemporary unless it has some sort of paranormal angle. My figuring is that I get enough of the real world every day. I want to really be drawn out of my comfort zone. I want that spectacular hero who might never exist. Dreaming about his dark kiss or his ability to render me boneless with a mere sweep of his hand, or yes, even grant me immortality, is what keeps me going back to the paranormal stories.

I read historicals for that same reason. Enough real world, sweep me back to a time I can only imagine, and place me in the arms of a handsome fop decked out in frockcoat and lace. But everyone has their favorite genres to read in; they all rock!

So what attracts you to the various genres? I know not all contemporaries are ‘real world’ and many sweep a reader away to foreign lands peopled with billionaire sheiks and ultra-sexy princes. Talk about fantasy! So what is it about the non-paranormal contemporary genre that appeals to you? Go on, entice me to step out of my comfort zone—my weird zone—to try something normal. Or if the paranormal attracts you, then let’s hear a cheer for the weirdos!

Now, if the Dark Enchantments series interests you, I should let you know we (the authors involved: Nina Bruhns, Cynthia Cooke, Michele Hauf, and Pat White) have set our characters loose to blog. Yep, that’s right, we, the authors, are not posting. So if you want to learn more about the characters do stop by the blog.

And I’d love to give away a copy of Familiar Stranger and a copy of my September vampire/witch Nocturne, Kiss Me Deadly to one lucky winner. Just leave a comment, and a winner will be drawn by tomorrow. You must register to be eligible to win!