Corsets and the Paranormal
by Isabel Cooper
by Isabel Cooper
Actually thinking about why I like what I do is a relatively new development for me; if my life had a catch phrase, it would probably be some variant on “Sure, why not?” or, in retrospect, “It seemed like a good idea at the time.” Seriously. I could tell you stories. My mom could tell you other stories, or maybe the same stories in a somewhat different tone. And I first got into reading and writing historical paranormals, true to form, because I’ve never written any fiction without, at minimum, a disgruntled psychic teenager, and I like period dramas and hey, why not?
Which I think is actually part of why I like paranormal historical romances, come to think of it.
See, it all comes down to potential, and freedom, and things not being completely straightforward. (What L.M. Montgomery calls “the bend in the road”, which I can quote from memory, because I have kiiiiind of read Anne of Green Gables more times than I really should have.) Adventures happen when you don’t know for sure what will come next. That’s fun, at least in small doses: road trips, parties, boys. Novels, too.
Magic’s all about that stuff. Olivia, my heroine in Lessons After Dark, has a much more in-world technical explanation for it, but from my perspective, magic is about things not being what they appear on the surface. That ordinary-looking girl over there is actually seven hundred years old. The kid upstairs can set you on fire. Your boss turns into a velociraptor when the moon is full. Anything can happen! Anything probably will happen! And, as Olivia explains, if you can find out the way things really work, the secret rules behind the universe, then you can do anything, or at least a lot more than you could beforehand.
On the surface, historical settings would seem like the antithesis of all that open-world adventure wackiness: stuff has already happened! We have documents! We know how this went!
Except…what if we actually don’t?
Even normal historical dramas start from there. We do know what’s going to happen on the larger stage—and that lets us in on the secret-rules thing, because as viewers we can react to telephones in Downton Abbey or Nixon on Mad Men in ways that the characters can’t—but we don’t know how it’s going to affect these characters, in this plot. We’re already starting historical dramas with that mixture of knowledge and mystery.
Then you add the paranormal element, and suddenly it’s all about how you can add the paranormal element: what features of the period you’re working in lend themselves to the occult. Maybe Spiritualism really worked. Maybe the Nazis really were trying to get their hands on the Holy Grail. Maybe Jimmy Carter’s giant swimming rabbit was actually a bio-organic weapon, thwarted at the last second by…hyperintelligent snapping turtles, I guess.
See, freedom only works if you have a few limits to free yourself from, and impulses only work if there’s something to provoke them. History’s very good at both. So’s the occult. When you combine them…
…well, it seems like a very good idea.
About the author:
Critically
acclaimed author Isabel Cooper lives in
Boston with her boyfriend and a houseplant she’s kept alive for over a year
now. She maintains her guise as a mild-mannered project manager working in
legal publishing; all the while, she’s writing dark, edgy and magical romance
novels. Her debut novel, No Proper Lady, was
named a 2011 Publishers Weekly Best
Book of the Year in the romance category, a 2011 Library Journal Best Romance of the Year and received an RT Book
Reviews Seal of Excellence for the month of September 2011. For more information, please visit http://www.isabelcooper.org
US & CAN ONLY
A woman with an unspeakable past…
Olivia Brightmore didn't know what to expect when she took a position to teach at Englefiend School, an academy for "gifted" children. But it wasn't having to rescue a young girl who levitated to the ceiling. Or battling a dark mystery in the surrounding woods. And nothing could have prepared her for Dr. Gareth St. John...
A man with exceptional talent…
He knew all about her history and scrutinized her every move because of it. But there was more than suspicion lurking in those luscious green eyes. Even with all the strange occurrences at the school, the most unsettling of all is the attraction pulling Olivia and Gareth together with a force that cannot be denied.
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Lessons After Dark is now on my TRL. Loved the blurb here. Thanks for this opportunity ladies. :)
ReplyDeleteCarol L.
Lucky4750 (at) aol (dot) com
Thank you very much! I hope you enjoy it!
DeleteThanks for the awesome giveaway. I wouldlove to read this book. Sounds very good. Tore923@aol.com
ReplyDeleteI'm glad to hear you think so! I hope you enjoy it!
DeleteThanks for an awesome post! I love reading tidbits from my fav authors. I loved No Proper Lady and I can't wait for this next book!
ReplyDeleteI just got my e-mail notification from Amazon that it shipped and I can't wait!!!
Happy Monday!
Happy Monday, Erin, and thank you for your comment! I never get tired of hearing when people like my work. ;)
DeleteCongrats on the book release. I also love a little mystery with my romance. It keeps the book going, love the faced pace of the books. Loved the little blurb for the book, looks great and would love to win and read.
ReplyDeletechristinebails@yahoo.com
Thank you!
DeleteI agree: it's a lot of fun letting the characters find new and weird things out over the course of a book.
Young women like Wearing Corsets intended for Different Purposes.
DeleteOverbust corsets often conjure Victorian-period glamour or maybe bizarre feminine kitsch. Either way, Corset and Tutu type of undergarment will make a sharp image for your lover.
I love it when the authors cross genres like this. It creates something fresh and exciting. This sounds like an incredible read!
ReplyDeleteyadkny@hotmail.com
Thank you very much!
DeleteI have a lot of fun mixing disparate elements, both in writing and in general. People seem to like it a lot more in my writing than they do in many other things("...strawberries on mint chocolate chip ice cream? Izzy, there's something *wrong* with you."), thank goodness. :)
Hope you enjoy!
LESSONS AFTER DARK sounds really good. I do love PNR and historicals so the combo of the two is even better. Which aspect did you decide on first? PNR or historical, or did the idea just pop into your head at one time?
ReplyDeleteJune
manning_j2004 at yahoo dot com
(it is a J after the _)
Thank you!
DeleteMore or less at the same time, actually: with No Proper Lady, I started with the idea of a Victorian guy meeting a modern-ish woman out in the middle of a forest, and the magic and demons and so forth came in shortly afterwards.
This book sounds great and I'd love to be entered to win!
ReplyDeletemlawson17 at hotmail dot com
Thank you! I'm glad you like the idea!
DeleteIts like you read my mind! Ever since Firelight and The Seduction of Phaeton Black, I have been wanting more paranormal historical romance!!!
ReplyDeleteVery cool! I like peeking behind the curtain, finding out why authors write what they do. Fun stuff!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the giveaway opportunity. It's a great way to check out new authors. Your blurb for LESSONS AFTER DARK sounds really good. I'm definitely interested in reading this book!
ReplyDelete