So, what makes Paranormal... paranomal? - a guest post
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Monday, Nov. 2 is Paranormal Monday at Virtual FantasyCon. It's the place to meet authors, artists and bloggers who delight in ghosts, vampires and other things that go bump... in broad daylight half the time. Just as with the other days of FantasyCon there are games to be played and prizes to be won. I'm wondering if I could win the cosplay competition for this day by dressing up as an invisible character.
Probably not. But I have an expert on hand with a guest post from prolific science fiction and fantasy author Jonathan Yañez to explain what exactly it is that makes paranormal the genre of the strange and unexplained.
Take it away Jonathan.
In an age when writer's are asked to place their work in a specific genre, which genre do we choose? Just to name a few genres we have; paranormal, dystopian, steampunk, fantasy, science fiction, supernatural, epic fantasy, etc... There seems to be an army of option all bleeding into one another and making for a confusing decision. I'll spend the next few paragraphs giving you a better idea on what defines the paranormal genre and separates it from all the others.
First the actual definition of paranormal as defined by the Merriam-Webster Dictionary:
PARANORMAL - very strange and not able to be explained by what scientists know about nature and the world."Still not super clear, right?
As writers I think we have done a better job by narrowing in on a more thorough answer. Novels tagged as paranormal have been written in our modern day world with the introduction of paranormal elements such as; werewolves, vampires, witches, angels, ghosts, and so on. Examples of books that fall in the paranormal range could be Twilight (a paranormal romance) or The Mortal Instruments Series.The aspect that makes this genre so different and unique is the freedom to mix our everyday lives with the fantastical. It twists what we know and turns everything we take as ordinary on its head. It makes us ask questions like, "what if?" and challenges us to reimagine what we thought we knew.
About Jonathan Yañez
Jonathan Yañez is the author of over a dozen fantasy and science fiction novels. His works include, The Elite Series, The Nephilim Chronicles, Thrive, Bad Land, Steam and Shadows and The DeCadia Code. He has been both traditionally and independently published with his works being adapted into; ebook, print, audiobook and even optioned for film.
You can connect with him by clicking the following links to his website, facebook page or twitter account; jonathan-yanez.com, Facebook or Twitter.
https://twitter.com/JonathanAYanez
http://www.facebook.com/JonathanYanezAuthor
Thanks for that clarification Jonathan.
Bookworms, I hope to see you at Virtual FantasyCon next week, exploring and enjoying wild stories among the booths. You can find Paranormal Monday here.
