Jayne Draws the Line

Now that the vampire craze has gone from being "the next new thing" to becoming a major, well established subgenre -- as I predicted a few years ago, by the bye -- I am frequently asked "when are you going to do a vampire novel?" The answer is "probably never". (In this business I never say never).

Trust me, I looked at the idea six ways from Sunday back at the start of the rush. I really wanted to write a vampire novel, not only because vampires are the ultimate Alpha Males but also because being one of the first to catch a rising tide and ride the crest of a big new genre wave is an ideal situation for an author. But, alas, it was not meant to be.

I could enjoy reading vampire novels but I couldn't figure out how to write one -- not without obliterating most of the standard conventions (the ethical and moral implications of eternal life for creatures who clearly haven't done anything to deserve it, risk of incineration by sunlight, the necessity of drinking real Bloody Marys to stay fit, etc., etc.). I figured I could handle the great sex and the cool clothes that go with the vampire lifestyle but the other stuff was just too complicated. I don't do magic. I need some grounding in reality, however faint.


Ah, you say, but you do write paranormal fiction, Jayne. Yes, I do. I write psychic romantic-suspense and I do it in three different settings: historical, contemporary and futuristic. I absolutely love writing stories with a strong psychic twist and have done so off and on since the very beginning of my career. Now, with the start of my new Arcane Society series, I'm pulling out all the stops.

But, you see, for me there is a clear, bright line between the psychic and the supernatural. It may be a line that exists only for me and only in my imagination, but it is there and I don't seem to be able to cross it as a writer, although I can as a reader. I love the psychic thing because I see it as taking the concept of human intuition one step beyond. Almost everyone believes in intuition. Pushing the envelope in that realm works just fine for me.

But it appears that, for now at any rate, I am doomed to remain a reader -- not a writer -- of vampire novels. If nothing else, I find myself curious to see how other authors deal with the factors that stopped me cold.

What about you? Which of the many aspects of the vast new paranormal sub-genre appeal to you? Which ones do you love and which do you avoid?